Both a nod to PoMo and NYC’s tall-’n-skinny skyscrapers, Cape Town’s own skyline will have a new spike with the Spindle designed by one of our favourite architects, Robert Silke.

To be built on the Plein St/Spin St corner of Church Square, the luxe-living Spindle will contain 11 full-floor 143m2 – 150m2 apartments on its upper floors, with two duplex penthouses above. Each unit will occupy its own full floor, with its own key-card lift access and its own private lift lobby… plus, in true New York 5th Avenue style, you’ll have a dedicated 24-hour doorman and valet who, after you’ve pulled up outside your residence, will park your car for in your dedicated private parking bay in a nearby parking garage. The building will also house full-floor A-grade professional office chambers with the same own key-card lift access and private lift lobby access facilities. The project is scheduled to be finished in 2025.

VISI’s Editor, Steve Smith had a chat with Robert to get the skinny on the skinny…

So Robert, you reckon Cape Town is ready for a PoMo revival?

Well, you and I have both been ready for the great PoMo revival for a long time now Steve, but I still think of Spindle as a relatively classical and conservative building. Spindle is a classically Modern tower, Late Modern if you will. If you think of Richard Meier’s work in LA (like Getty Museum, see attached) which was so Late Modern, and so concurrent with 1980’s Post Modernism, that it somehow has the residual flavour of homoeopathic quantities of PoMo about it. 

What inspired the design? 

Spindle is a modern-day fairytale. The tower is both extremely tall and extremely small all at the same time (yet comprised of very large units) which is an allegory for Cape Town I think. I was in Tokyo in 2017, which is a city of small towers. But although Tokyo is all about smallness, the actual flats at Spindle (nothing less than 142m²) recognise that Cape Town is all about “not suffering like that”. We’re still in Africa and we like space. Spindle is about having everything all at the same time. “Let them have their cake and eat it”. So there’s something of the impossible about Spindle, which sports huge mansion apartments in a tiny and tall footprint (find out more about Robert’s other influences in this story).

Most new apartment blocks to tend to look a lot like high-rise parking garages, because that’s essentially what they are, but Spindle’s thirteen units come with 36 sectional title parking bays in a neighbouring garage. Liberated from the banalities of parking, Spindle is literally a block of penthouses – where you live in the view and the lift opens into your own entrance hall.

The best parts of the Cape Town inner city are the oldest parts (which is a truism for most great cities) and are therefore heritage-protected. Spindle’s site is an anomaly, since it comprises a small corner, just a small corner in one of the most historic, cultural and architecturally-complete parts of the city centre – open and underdeveloped. An open wound in the best part of town. The proverbial worst building in the best street. The condemned existing building is dumb and ugly, the site is quite small, and the rights to height are profound.

So, as it should be, the site constraints define the brief and the tower basically named itself and designed itself. In the very best parts of Manhattan (Park Avenue and 5th Avenue), there’s a phenomenon of needle-like high-rises for billionaires. By Manhattan standards, Spindle is no skyscraper, and neither is it meant for billionaires (okay not dollar billionaires!), but it’s a very Capetonian answer to the archetypal dream of living in splendid isolation on your very own floor of your own ivory tower.

Your buildings are very distinctive and clearly stand apart from others surrounding them. How conscious are you of the surroundings when sketching out a new design?

The best parts of the Cape Town inner city are Heritage Conservation Areas (Spindle is in one, Anew (Formaly Vib) is in one, Tuynhuys is in one) and are highly regulated by the heritage authorities – yet we manage to achieve modern and sculptural (and unapologetic) new towers that are sometimes taller than one would expect – some might even say overbearing … and we get away with this by staying contextually aware. Heritage conservation is not about aping the old buildings next door, but rather about relating to that context. The site and the context always come first, and our style comes second. 

Spindle is mostly shaped by its site and defined by the forms of the adjacent architecture – and our style is simply a vernacular through which we interpret those things. But, as it happens, the context here has some rather high-quality PoMo, in the form of the PoMo High-Tech Truworths corporate HQ as well as the historicist PoMo Woolworths corporate HQ – so I’m thinking you’ve picked up on something that we haven’t even seen; ie that we’ve absorbed and designed-in subliminally. Okay, maybe it’s a little PoMo.

And how would you describe the impact of your work on the city’s architectural DNA?

We’re trying to fit in and be a good neighbour, whilst trying to bring something new to the party – and using the same kit of humble parts that Cape Town is generally made from. Since the beginning, Cape Town has always been about white-plastered masonry with sculptural curves, gables and the like – and we see ourselves very much within the ambit of that old Cape vernacular. 

We’re not into big glass, big steel or big aluminium, and history shows that those kinds of things ultimately get corroded by the sea air or blown away by the south-easter. We’re not trying to change the city or replan the city, but rather try to design according to The Campsite Rule: “Leave the campsite better than you found it.” 

If one of these apartments were yours, run us through the furniture and décor you would be putting in there.

Although these full-floor units are all about the views, there are a lot of smooth white walls that are all about spaces for art. Not only oil paintings but niches for quality sculpture, both inside the units and even on the balconies. The penthouses are of course, double-volume – 6m and 7m tall in the living rooms. 

The interiors are solid and understated, with no brass on the taps and no fur on the handrails. The walls are white and the floors are herringbone and the tiles are all granite like the boulders in Bantry Bay. The joinery is pitch-black. Thus the scene is set for the acquisition of some serious art and some outrageous furniture – maybe even some Memphis.

If I could have a flat in Spindle, I’d go to Die Kunskamer or to Strauss and acquire some of the old South African masters, which will be at least as good an investment as the property itself. The first ever luxury property I designed was the double-volume Mutual Heights penthouse for an investment banker, who wasn’t prepared to shell out for the giant Preller I found for him at Die Kunskamer in 2004 for the asking price of R220k. Last year I saw the same work again at a Kunskamer retrospective organised by Frank Kilbourne of Strauss – who told me the Preller now belongs to Clara Wiese and is probably worth R12m – R15m – which is more than enough to buy one a mansion floor at Spindle – and decorate it, with change.

But one doesn’t have to spend millions on art. South Africa produced some exceptional Post Modern artists during the 1980s whose work is seriously undervalued and that’s what I would be collecting here.

Thursday 11 May sees the opening of Inova (the successor to the legendary Innovations) in Harrington Street, which is within short walking distance of Spindle. We helped them design their new showroom and I’m told they have an agency for Memphis Milano – the premium PoMo furniture brand. I’d shell out on a few key pieces from them, but then pad with some late 20th century vintage pieces (PoMo yes!) from The Space Agency and Ride a White Swan.

And a silk qum rug, my flat would need a silk qum to tie the furniture to the art. 

The apartments are selling for R10 750 000 – R11 250 000; the two penthouses are R19 500 000 (257m2) and R22 500 000 (280m2); and the office chambers for R10 250 000 – R10 750 000.

Find out more about Spindle, here.

Take a closer look at 6 creative projects by Robert Silke, here. Looking for more architectural inspiration? Sign up to our weekly newsletter, here.

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After a recent visit to Portugal Home Week, editor Steve Smith reckons the country’s high-end, handcrafted furniture brands are its best-kept secret.

Portugal may be a country acclaimed for its ceramics and textiles, but Portugal Home Week, held in the beautiful northwestern coastal city of Porto, showcased equally impressive wares by local furniture makers.

Housed at the Alfândega do Porto – the historic customs house on the Douro river – Home Week was a bit like Decorex or Design Joburg here in South Africa, and was held as part of a drive to promote the “Made in Portugal Naturally” brand.

It was also a wonderful illustration of exactly why this nation’s furniture makers are enjoying such growing global acclaim, with styles that vary from dark polished-wood sophistication to Scandi-style minimalism and the more avant-garde. Here are some of our favourites…

MEZZO COLLECTION

Mezzo Collection is inspired by 1950s and ’60s mid-century furniture, and re-interpreted with a modern twist. This is the Retro Moryson sideboard, which uses a tubular, gold-plated brass frame as structural support for the glossy lacquered wood.

MOOZA

Also from Mooza’s Natura range, the dining table above features tree trunk-like bases made of lacquered walnut, with a tabletop of bronze glass.

OIA

Focusing on working with natural stone, OIA’s Endless console (below) is made entirely of marble. The interconnection of its geometric plates is inspired by American sculptor Erwin Hauer’s work.

DOMKAPA

Based in the north of Portugal, Domkapa specialises in upholstered furniture. The minimalist Yumi bed is inspired by elegance, comfort and balanced lines. At its foot is the Colbert bench, with legs of textured black iron and an oval seat. Above right, a lounge with the generously proportioned Parker sofas and leather Alexander armchairs that swivel on their base also features the Grant pouf with detailed stitching in the foreground, as well as steel-and-wood Inside side tables.

WEWOOD

Wewood Portuguese Joinery specialises in handcrafted furniture that’s characterised by enduring aesthetics. Featured here is the solid oak and walnut Casanova sideboard; the Odhin lounge chair, inspired by 1950s Danish design; a Corner coffee table; and the Bowie sofa, which plays with the slim appearance of metal and the robustness of wood.

Looking for more interior design inspiration? Sign up to our weekly newsletter, here.

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I’ve fallen in love with colour.

Hard to believe, given that my monochromatic personal wardrobe and home-decor aesthetic (beyond the odd bright splash of the Barbara Hepworth print behind me) have usually followed a neutral palette.

As it did for many, that all changed over the last year. After enduring months of lockdown, and the social, economic and emotional pressures brought about by the pandemic, we’ve shared a global chrysalis moment. I’ve felt a natural pull towards the positivity and encouragement of colour. It feels stridently forward-looking – and a crucial energy to tap into as the world rejuvenates and reinvents itself.

A lot of that reinvention went into our homes: the place where we spent so much time both working and living. Lockdown was also an unexpected but wonderful opportunity to witness nature’s cycle and
its seasonal explosion of colour – one that previous life perhaps took for granted. It’s a zeitgeist that I think intersects perfectly with the inherent vibrancy of South African design: it’s amplified the work created by our talented local designers, not only placing it confidently among current global trends, but setting them too.

So yes, I may still be monochromatically attired… But in my house, bedrooms have turned yellow, walls have turned pink, tables have turned green and carpets have become emboldened. A look at VISI over the past 12 months makes it clear that colour has captivated us all – and in this issue, the transformation is complete.

– Steve Smith, Editor | info@visi.co.za

Want the print magazine?

Subscribe to VISI now and receive a 40% discount off your one-year print subscription. You’ll pay just R342.00 for six issues delivered directly to your post box. Use any of these methods to subscribe or renew your existing subscription:

• Call Media24 Subscriptions on 087 353 1300
• WhatsApp “VISI” to 087 353 1333
• Email subs@media24.com

Want the digital magazine?

If you prefer to read your favourite magazine in digital form, on your iPad, tablet or desktop computer, you can subscribe to the digital edition of VISI via the below websites. It will cost from as little as R225 for a one-year subscription – that’s a 50% discount on six issues.

• zinio.com
• magzter.com
• pressreader.com

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Pure functionality is its reason for being. Nothing CAN wrong with that. But with some creative thought, the addition of considered aesthetics to basic BE useability transforms a thing into something more. That’s essentially what design is all about – and this issue is packed with examples.

VISI 113

VISI 113, the sixth issue of the magazine created remotely, includes features on beautiful homes, luxe lodges and inspirational objects from furniture and homeware to jewellery and art. Add it to your collection!

WAS R95 NOW R76

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JUST A Micro-apartments… We’re seeing many of those sprouting up in cities here and around the globe, most with the generic look of the moment that THING. usually involves plenty of 90o angles, along with swathes of glass and steel frontage. Now have a look at our Uxolo Apartments feature on page 134. Same basic concept; totally different approach. It’s bold and unlikely to be to everyone’s taste, but its designers have brought a unique and thoroughly modern Afro-futurist aesthetic to it that sets Uxolo apart. It’s also a great example of how design doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s not necessarily about high-cost materials – creative and inventive design has given relatively low-priced apartments a rather special feel.

Lodges… We see a lot of those too, and there’s a lovely Out Of Africa luxury aesthetic that many faithfully adhere to. Again, nothing wrong with that, and it no doubt fulfils the African fantasy holiday that many of their Savile Row-khaki-wearing international guests expect. And then there’s Xigera lodge on page 56. Not only does this new luxury lodge in the Okavango Delta house one of the largest single collections of contemporary African design anywhere in the world – and it’s totally off the grid – but it has been put together to create a space that is appropriate to both its environment and purpose, yet undeniably innovative. Xigera will change the way people design luxury lodges.

And farm shops/delis… It’s no surprise that it’s the Bosjes estate in the Western Cape’s Breedekloof Valley that’s upended the notions of what this should look like (page 68). Its exquisite and highly acclaimed chapel set the tone for the striking new shop and pantry, with folded roofs and trellises that are inspired by traditional matjieshuis and kaphuis structures.

Considered design is also why I’m such a fan of VISI creative director Mark Serra’s work. Look at the way he approaches our features – and especially the headline. Rather than just employ a chosen font, he crafts and manipulates it until it’s not merely about words but an intrinsic piece of the story’s design. And every feature in every issue is different. That’s design. It’s one of the reasons VISI lives up to its pay-off line. I hope you enjoy the latest issue of SA’s Most Beautiful Magazine.

– Steve Smith, Editor

info@visi.co.za

Want the print magazine?

Subscribe to VISI now and receive a 40% discount off your one-year print subscription. You’ll pay just R342.00 for six issues delivered directly to your post box. Use any of these methods to subscribe or renew your existing subscription:

• Call Media24 Subscriptions on 087 353 1300
• WhatsApp “VISI” to 087 353 1333
• Email subs@media24.com

Want the digital magazine?

If you prefer to read your favourite magazine in digital form, on your iPad, tablet or desktop computer, you can subscribe to the digital edition of VISI via the below websites. It will cost from as little as R225 for a one-year subscription – that’s a 50% discount on six issues.

• zinio.com
• magzter.com
• pressreader.com

Not sure where to find the magazine? Here is a list of stockists. You can also buy VISI 113 (as well as VISI 107, VISI 108, VISI 109, VISI 110, VISI 111 or VISI 112) via shop.visi.co.za.

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I recently read a story about a chair. It caught my eye for a couple of reasons.

Its classic mid-century aesthetic was one; the other was the fact that we’re doing a piece on designer chairs for this issue (page 24). I liked it for its thin beech legs and spindle-back design, but what I loved was the story behind the chair’s origins. It’s a story that’s relevant to the world we’re living in – a story about design in adversity.

The Ercol chair – popular among design-minded homeowners in the 1960s and highly collectable now – has its roots in the austerity of post-World War II England. With much of Ercol’s manufacturing capacity taken up by the war effort, the company emerged after 1945 constrained by limited raw-materials supply and construction capabilities. And the simple, minimalist Ercol chair was the result. Like all design, it took what went before – in this case, the centuries-old Windsor chair – and created something fresh. Something sleeker and simpler; something that transformed country craft into minimalism.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how our current designers respond to these Covid-affected times. We’ve already seen some innovative re-imaginings of home spaces – our page 30 story on home-office pods is an example of that – but I’m really interested to see what kind of design comes out of what is clearly a fundamentally changed global zeitgeist.

Will commercial architecture turn away from high-rise corporate vanity projects? Will homes mirror a need to welcome the outside into the interiors we will now be spending far more time in? Will we see interior design reflect the need to simplify these spaces with a return and reinterpretation of minimalism? And will we see an enduring adoption of local design … and an African story like that of the Ercol chair?

– Steve Smith, Editor

info@visi.co.za

Want the print magazine?

Subscribe to VISI now and receive a 40% discount off your one-year print subscription. You’ll pay just R342.00 for six issues delivered directly to your post box. Use any of these methods to subscribe or renew your existing subscription:

• Call Media24 Subscriptions on 087 353 1300
• WhatsApp “VISI” to 087 353 1333
• Email subs@media24.com

Want the digital magazine?

If you prefer to read your favourite magazine in digital form, on your iPad, tablet or desktop computer, you can subscribe to the digital edition of VISI via the below websites. It will cost from as little as R225 for a one-year subscription – that’s a 50% discount on six issues.

• zinio.com
• magzter.com
• pressreader.com

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Renowned wine farm Haute Cabrière’s restaurant space has the kind of view that makes it hard to focus on the delicious menu.

Almost as well-known as its excellent Chardonnay Pinot Noir has been Haute Cabrière’s restaurant and its French-inspired menu. At the end of 2019, 25 years after it opened, the wine farm unveiled a completely redesigned eating area. Not only was its much-loved cellar space given a decor revamp, but most notably, a new pavilion has been built with unimpeded panoramic views of the Franschhoek valley. With glass walls and an expansive infinity deck, the structure allows guests to enjoy chef Nic van Wyk’s delicious menu, which he describes as “elegant but comforting, offering dishes that would satisfy locals, yet impress international guests”.

Architectural firm A3D was entrusted with a brief to design a space that would continue to create a stylish, authentically meaningful experience for guests – one that could adapt and cater to a variety of needs of local and international visitors.

If you can tear your eyes away from the spectacular views, Haute Cabrière’s newly redesigned eating space provides a stylish canvas for chef Nic van Wyk’s“elegant yet comforting” menu. There is also a deli and bakery on site, offering artisan bakes.

The spectacular views and the cellar’s iconic stone arches were key elements that needed to remain, ensuring the establishment’s maxim of “living beautifully”.

“The ambience is lighter,” says AD Muller, lead architect at A3D. “There’s a powerful sense of arrival, and the flow of the property guides guests through the different spaces and offerings. All of this is offset by an exquisite view of the landscape on one side, and the original European-inspired underground stone cellar on the other. A creative approach to decor has brought a fresh feel of modernity to the space.”

With a deli and bakery, where freshly baked artisanal fare, fresh produce from the vegetable garden and condiments from the menu are all on offer, Haute Cabrière’s elegant space is a wonderful winelands stop for breakfast through to dinner.

For more information, visit cabriere.co.za.

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So hands up, who needs a holiday?

Given the year we’ve all had, I’m pretty sure you’re holding VISI in one hand and have the other in the air.

Me, I’d go back to the Greek islands in a heartbeat. We’ve had some of our most memorable holidays there: Kefalonia, Lefkada and Asos in the Ionian Sea; and Naxos and Santorini in the Aegean.

But – yup – that’s not going to happen this festive season, so like most South Africans, we’re planning to spend our time off in a local setting. And that’s not a bad thing: we live in a beautiful country with a diverse array of holiday options that even the most indifferent of us could not take for granted.

We’ll be taking a seaside holiday – renting a house in Arniston – then heading inland to do some camping in the Cederberg. You’ll see there’s a bit of a camping vibe in this issue. Of course there are the usual inspirational homes – getaways both coastal and inland – but we’ve also got great tips on where you can live your best van life or pitch your tent (page 32). Have a look too at the beautifully designed tents on page 20, and at the incredible roving luxury of Angama Safari Camp in the Maasai Mara on page 70.

Happy holidays, folks. See you in 2021!

– Steve Smith, Editor

info@visi.co.za

Want the print magazine?

Subscribe to VISI now and receive a 25% discount off your one-year print subscription. You’ll pay just R337.50 for six issues delivered directly to your post box. Use any of these methods to subscribe or renew your existing subscription:

• Call Media24 Subscriptions on 087 353 1300
• WhatsApp “VISI” to 087 353 1333
• Email subs@media24.com

Want the digital magazine?

If you prefer to read your favourite magazine in digital form, on your iPad, tablet or desktop computer, you can subscribe to the digital edition of VISI via the below websites. It will cost from as little as R225 for a one-year subscription – that’s a 50% discount on six issues.

• zinio.com
• magzter.com
• pressreader.com

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No other room in your home influences your lifestyle as much as a kitchen does.

Whether large or small, the kitchen has become an oasis among the modern, busy lives we all lead. Where it was once merely a place where food was prepared, it’s now as much the centre of your family’s day-to-day living – cooking, eating and socialising – as it is an expression of your own taste in decor and design. With a cup of tea or coffee, your day probably begins here and will likely end here too, preparing the evening’s meal … and that means having a kitchen space that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing is key to how you experience your home.

Whether you are looking to spruce it up or completely redesign your kitchen, in this special issue, the VISI team has compiled the ideal resource to begin that exciting journey. From the latest design trends and appliances, to some of our favourite kitchens seen in the pages of VISI, this special edition will inspire your dream kitchen.

– Steve Smith, Editor

info@visi.co.za

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As winters go, this one was pretty long and bleak.

And particularly cold, right? It was like the physical effects of a more distant sun and the psychological chill of lockdown combined for a cold front greater than any weather radar could pick up.

“This too shall pass” is one maxim I’ve always relied on, though – and one that this painting has been a constant reminder of. It hangs on my living-room wall and was always there, in my peripheral vision, during the many lockdown months spent working from home. Painted in 1980 by local artist Penny Layland, it recalls balmy late afternoons warmed by a big, low African sun. It was a source of hope – that seasons change; that from dark comes light, and with it we are renewed.

Welcome, then, to our summer issue. It’s one of resurgence and the promise of possibility; where we shine a big, bright light on some of South Africa’s inspirational design, architectural and artistic talents. From the positivity of yellow (page 18) to our featured homes, hotels and lodges, a chronicle of John Vogel’s iconic furniture (page 132) and Puleng Mongale’s evocative self-portraits (page 166), VISI 110 is about stepping out into the glorious summer sun. Here’s to our revival…

– Steve Smith, Editor

info@visi.co.za

Want the print magazine?

Subscribe to VISI now and receive a 25% discount off your one-year print subscription. You’ll pay just R337.50 for six issues delivered directly to your post box. Use any of these methods to subscribe or renew your existing subscription:

• Call Media24 Subscriptions on 087 353 1300
• WhatsApp “VISI” to 087 353 1333
• Email subs@media24.com

Want the digital magazine?

If you prefer to read your favourite magazine in digital form, on your iPad, tablet or desktop computer, you can subscribe to the digital edition of VISI via the below websites. It will cost from as little as R225 for a one-year subscription – that’s a 50% discount on six issues.

• zinio.com
• magzter.com
• pressreader.com

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As we speak, I’m typing away sitting at our living room table with my constant companion at the other end during these past lockdown months – my teenager – doing her matric schoolwork. That makes it the second issue of VISI done remotely… and it also marks the second wave of home-improvements for the Smith household.

It’s been a thing, right Sounds like everyone has spent a large part of lockdown thinking of ways to re-imagine, revamp, and redo their homes.

For us, it’s mostly been about colour – an instinctive response, I guess, to the sameness of lockdown. Wave One was more of a painting and artwork thing. From a blank-canvas white, one wall got painted pink and another grey… and that resulted in a major rehang of our art collection.

We started to grow things too. A bunch of new indoor plants provided a softer, greener accent and, out the back, lettuce and spinach grown in big clay pots have been both plentiful and delicious. And then things got serious. Cue a major chuck out. We owned way too many things.

Clothes, bedding, and boxes of assorted “stuff ” got donated to charity. A big old white chalk-painted teak cupboard was sold on Facebook marketplace and replaced with a bright yellow Pederson + Lennard server below a newly installed skylight. Suggestions were even made (but politely declined) that I should sell one of my bicycles. The end result is a brighter, greener and less cluttered Cape Town City Bowl cottage that has not only been a fun and cost-effective project, but has made lockdown a bit more bearable. No doubt you have your version of that and I trust VISI once again provides some inspiration for what to do next.

– Steve Smith, Editor

info@visi.co.za

Want the print magazine?

Subscribe to VISI now and receive a 25% discount off your one-year print subscription. You’ll pay just R337.50 for six issues delivered directly to your post box. Use any of these methods to subscribe or renew your existing subscription:

• Call Media24 Subscriptions on 087 353 1300
• WhatsApp “VISI” to 087 353 1333
• Email subs@media24.com

Want the digital magazine?

If you prefer to read your favourite magazine in digital form, on your iPad, tablet or desktop computer, you can subscribe to the digital edition of VISI via the below websites. It will cost from as little as R225 for a one-year subscription – that’s a 50% discount on six issues.

• zinio.com
• magzter.com
• pressreader.com

Not sure where to find the magazine? Here is a list of stockists. Looking to buy VISI 107, VISI 108 or VISI 109 online? Visit shop.visi.co.za.

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