Discarded office furniture becomes bespoke art for the 2050 workplace.

UPCYCLE, a unique showcase which recently took place at Maker’s Landing at the V&A Waterfront, reimagines the future world of work through circular design. The exhibition was a collaboration between Sanlam, leading global property advisory company JLL, and its subsidiary interior design firm Tétris Design and Build – a world-class design, build and furniture business.

UPCYCLE saw a group of local makers and artists, alongside a local and international team from Tétris transform discarded office furniture into bespoke art installations.

Each piece of art was assigned a sustainability score, which guides incorporating sustainability aspects at every stage of design and build, covering eleven essential pillars. The artworks were evaluated according to factors such as the use of materials to minimise impact, design to foster improved air quality and water preservation, the inclusion of natural elements and light to promote well-being, as well as innovation.

Patrick Bongoy

The 2024 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize finalist is known for embracing an artistic methodology that revolves around the randomness and unique properties of the materials he works with. His process relies on actively listening to the materials as they guide and direct him, allowing for a fluid and organic creative approach.

For the exhibition, Bongoy used 80 unused desk bookshelves to create Carrefour – a four-stair structure that fosters a sense of connection, a place where people can converge and exchange ideas. His second piece for UPCYCLE, Sagan Palmier, was crafted from plastic dustbins, bookshelves and old meeting room tables. The towering lamp references the palm tree, which plays a significant role in African biodiversity production and agriculture.

Both installations invited the viewer to engage with the profound connection between art, environmental consciousness, and the power of recycling.

Ananta Design Studio

Sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen from Ananta Design Studio created a plush ‘sea creature’ for UPCYCLE. The design duo used a discarded office bin at the centre of their playful lighting installation, which incorporated tactile elements like dried seaweed flowers, beaded urchins and fronds woven from old cassette tape by the talented makers at re.bag.re.use.

”When we thought of the future of the workplace, we thought of a playful, sensory, and interactive space. We wanted to create a plush floor seated area – something that stimulates creativity, challenges the current perception of the workplace and acts as a connector to nature,” says Rucita.

Wiid Design

Laurie Wiid van Heerden and his team at Wiid Design created an outdoor sculpture that adds to the environment by offering itself as a sustainable haven for birds.

Birdhouse – Version 2, crafted from recycled office bins and cork, symbolises coexistence and community. This contemporary interpretation of a functional birdhouse emphasises the importance of conserving wildlife and biodiversity, while also reducing the abundance of waste by up-cycling forgotten office furniture.

Hoven Design

Nisha and Justus Van der Hoven imagined the ‘future of work’ according to a job description set in the year 2050. At the centre of their multi-faceted display was the Cabinette – a tiny work cabin.

”The decentralised workforce of the future will rely heavily on a mobile toolkit, which is housed in a customised ‘cabinette’. This functions as a base station to perform tasks in the field. In the case of the Climate Restoration Engineer (a naturalist), the cabinette is an indigenous seed library, a herbarium for preserved plant specimens and a mobile apiary for the rehabilitation of insects,” says Nisha.

Cabinette was crafted entirely from old office furniture – old credenzas, dustbins and cubical screens were used to craft the mobile unit. The Climate Restoration Engineer’s work ‘jumpsuit’ and overgarment was made from the office cubical acoustic panel fabric and barrier mesh the designers found on the side of the road. ”Because we don’t know what the landscape will look like or what dangers we’d face in 2050, we decided to choose blaze orange as our primary colour – it’s non-threatening to wildlife but easily identifiable to the human eye,” says Nisha.

Tétris

Helen Wentzel and Tshepiso Lesufi from Tétris South Africa created Work at Play, a series of rotating, swinging seats.

”We found these corporate workstation legs, sketched out our ideas and came up with this swing,” says Tshepiso. ”We thought about our children who are our future workforce, and what they would want. We created this functional seating system that encourages creativity,” says Helen.

Another creation from the Tétris team was the Oxygen Farm Work Pod – made from reclaimed COVID work screens and plywood. ”This is a fully functional green pod, which is ideal for bringing nature into an interior working environment,” says Helen.

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Meet the designers turning trash into treasure by transforming old office furniture into works of art for UPCYCLE: Office Furniture Reimagined

This unique showcase taking place at Makers Landing at the V&A Waterfront on 19 and 20 April 2024 will highlight how design has the potential to shape a more conscious workspace.

Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy, sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen of Studio Ananta, Nisha and Justus Van der Hoven of Hoven Design, and Laurie Wiid of Wiid Design have been tasked by global design and build company Tétris to create an artwork or installation using donated office furniture items in a direct response to the current office ecosystem that sees furniture often end up in landfills. Their four pieces will be showcased alongside Tétris’s furniture upcycling projects.

The team of designers representing Tétris is stacked with international talent. An acclaimed figure in architecture, interior design, space planning and workplace consulting, Adrian Davidson, Design Director Tétris EMEA, has more than 25 years’ experience in designing luxury eco-lodges, retail and premium workplaces. Before joining Tétris he completed Klein JAN, the award-winning restaurant in the Karoo in the Western Cape for Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik Van Der Westhuizen.

Amaury Watine, Creativity and Innovation Director Tétris EMEA, has an extensive background as a product and space designer with particular interest in innovation, trends and technological developments. His work for Scaleway, a French cloud computing and web company, reflects a forward-thinking approach to space design focused on the end user experience.

Flying the flag for South African design will be Helen Wentzel and Tshepiso Lesufi, both Senior Interior Designers from Tétris South Africa. Helen has more than 30 years’ design experience in the commercial, residential, and retail sectors, where she uses her love of design and attention to detail to create spaces that people find rewarding. From the Pepsico HQ in Johannesburg, to curating the selection of African art for the Roche Johannesburg informal collaboration spaces, Wentzel has an incredible knowledge of local design and materials.

Tshepiso has more than 18 years’ experience in retail and corporate design. With an interest and joy in local design and craft that infuses her work, Lesufi recently completed work for NBA in South Africa and Ethiopia where she worked with teams to repurpose and refurbish 65% of existing office furniture and fittings to create dynamic workspaces that playfully include sustainability best practice principles.  

Each of the designers and artists, chosen by the Tétris team based on their body of work and reputation in the industry, play a critical role in shaping what the future could be and imagining new possibilities for the workspace. The brief was simple: create an installation or art piece from disused office furniture, and then use this creative moment as the foundation to define what ‘the future of work’ may be – functional and practical, or abstract and fantastical.

Laurie Wiid is well-versed in the art of using unconventional materials in his work. As the founder and lead designer of Wiid Design, Laurie is an expert at finding the niche between high-end and sustainable product design. For UPCYCLE, he will be creating a sculptural birdhouse using almost 30 old office dustbins in combination with cork, steel and concrete. 

Studio Ananta is a Cape Town-based design studio committed to fostering a circular economy and creating sustainable, ethical and eco-conscious products. The studio’s fantastical beaded creations, characterised by colour and bold patterns, are designed by the duo and crafted in collaboration with skilled artisan communities, such as the beaders at Monkeybiz.

“We are thrilled to be participating in Tétris’s UPCYCLE exhibition which allows us the opportunity to explore how creativity, colour and craft can be used to reimagine the future of workspaces,“ commented Viveka and Ructia.

Acclaimed Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy is a fierce advocate for using art to give new life to discarded materials. Using materials such as disused rubber, the artist creates new life and symbolism with his artworks, making him the perfect contributor to the UPCYCLE project.

‘The concept of the workplace has undergone significant changes over the past few decades, and the future promises to bring more transformation,’ says Patrick, whose project will involve developing an artwork that helps workers lower their stress and anxiety and boost their performance.

Lastly, Nisha and Justus Van der Hoven’s unconventional and multidisciplinary architecture, interior design, film and exhibition studio Hoven will bring its experimental approach to the UPCYCLE exhibition. By combining their overlapping interests, the duo has shaped a unique process in their approach to projects and imagining new possibilities within an African context – particularly with regards to workspaces. The Van der Hovens have previously been involved in the architectural and interior design of workspaces such as Workshop17’s The Bank, Firestation, Kloof Street and Tabakhuis buildings, where they rethought the future of the physical, digital and experiential workspace and developed new space typologies designed for flexibility, variety and choice.

In terms if of the event, there will be a student-focused day on 19 April and a walkabout with the artists and designers on Saturday 20 April at 11h00, which will be led by Heath Nash of Circular Squared. A designer and serial social entrepreneur, he has been ardently advancing the notion of waste as value since 2004. The Head of Sustainable Design at Circular Squared, a non-profit that champions circular economic thinking, and the founder of Our Workshop, a shared upcycling and design studio in Langa, Heath is committed to social engagement and circular design in all his work.

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This pioneering exhibition taking place from 19 to 20 April 2024 showcases how human creativity can tackle the challenge of tomorrow’s working world.

Upcycle is an innovative initiative showcasing how design can champion circularity and contribute to creating more sustainable workspaces. This project will take the form of an exhibition in Cape Town, presented by JLL, a leading global property development company, and its subsidiary Tétris Design and Build, an interior design firm. The exhibition aims to raise awareness around environmental challenges and inspire others to take action.

“We see a brighter way forward for our clients, our people, our planet, and our communities… we’re unveiling opportunities that create a brighter future for all,” JLL states.

Tétris, which creates commercial environments that are inspirational and sustainable, is deeply invested in defining what tomorrow’s workspaces will look like in our ever-changing society. JLL and Tétris have identified that we need to contend with how the agile reconfiguration of the workspace in the post-Covid world has led to a mounting tide of discarded office equipment and furniture that either languishes in storage, ends up on an over-supplied second-hand market, or worse – in landfill. In Tétris’s view, designers and artists play a critical role in imagining new possibilities that help shape what the future could be, which is why the company has invited a collective of leading creative minds to spotlight the issue and to prompt its own organisation and the broader industry to reconsider their role.

With Upcycle, the aim is to put bigger issues of sustainability and regenerative design under the spotlight in a creative way. A select group of local designers and artists, including members of Tétris’s own local and international teams, has been tasked with breathing new life into discarded office equipment and furniture pieces. With these thought-provoking pieces that will ignite conversation, Upcycle is set to be an intriguing affair.

The select group of local designers and artists include:

• Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy
• Sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen of Ananta Design Studio
• Nisha and Justus van der Hoven of Hoven Design
• Laurie Wiid of Wiid Design
• Amaury Watine, who is the Creativity and Innovation Director Tétris EMEA
• Adrian Davidson, Design Director Tétris EMEA, as well as two Senior Interior Designers from Tétris South Africa, Helen Wentzel and Tshepiso Lesufi.

The exhibition will be open to the public at Makers Landing at V&A Waterfront from 19 to 20 April 2024. On Friday 19 April, design students will be welcomed for a special student-focused day, and on Saturday 20 April there will be a free curated walkabout with the artists and designers at 11h00. 

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The latest collection for the Cape Town-based sustainable brand references its previous collections, while experimenting with new materials and colourways.

Premium outdoor fashion and lifestyle brand Sealand specialises in handcrafted bags made from upcycled landfill waste. The brand’s ethos is to protect the environment and uplift the local communities who make its products. “Human beings aren’t perfect,” says the Sealand team in its brand statement. “One of the greatest flaws is our constant creation of waste. Sealand’s way of combatting this, is by working with what we already have.” Sealand aims to seamlessly bring together function, fashion and sustainability while empowering community members by way of production.

The Autumn/Winter 2020 collection consists of 16 products made from Sealand’s signature Ripstop base and B-graded bedouin stretch tent materials, which are available in a range of colourways, including Black, Grey/Blue and Sand/Orange.

The latest collection also features revised branding, hardware and improved webbing. For those who know the brand, you will notice a significant technical change to the Hero convertible duffel bag’s design, now the Hero50, with similar treatment given to the Grab. The Choob S has been completely redesigned.

Aside from its ethically produced collections, the brand also offers a Conscious Gifting range for companies. The expertly designed range is customisable using Sealand’s favourites and best-sellers.

To browse the Autumn/Winter 2020 collection, visit sealandgear.co.za.

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Nespresso and the Swedish bicyle and lifestyle brand Vélosophy turn recycled aluminium coffee capsules into sustainably stylish bicycles.

Created for conscious-living coffee lovers, the limited C edition Vélosophy Re:Cycle bikes are made from recycled aluminium Nespresso capsules. Aluminium can be remelted and reused to give waste a second life and, in this instance, showcase the potential of recycling discarded coffee pods.

In a nod to Nespresso’s Arpeggio coffee, the Swedish bicycle and lifestyle brand reimagined its classic model in 1 000 bright purple units. The bike boasts a capsule-shaped bell and cup-holder, which gives cyclists the gap to enjoy beverages on the go.

Vélosophy’s CEO and founder Jimmy Östholm says, “We created Vélosophy with a clear purpose: to have a positive impact on the world. This purpose drives everything we do, from our promise to give a bike to a schoolgirl for every Vélosophy we sell, to producing our stylish city bikes from recycled aluminium. I see in Nespresso a strong commitment to sustainability, which is why this has been the dream partnership.”

“We are proud to have co-created a bike that takes on the future. It is beautifully designed, responsibly sourced and sustainably produced.”

Re:Cycle bikes are available exclusively online from Vélosophy for R21 930 (exchange-rate dependent and excluding shipping).

For more information, visit velosophy.cc.

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Inspired by actual waves and making idiomatic ones, eco-brand Sealand Gear is making a splash on the local and international urban adventure scene.

Driven by sustainability and environmental awareness, Cape Town-based brand Sealand Gear produces a range of bags handmade from upcycled yacht sails, Bedouin stretch tents, advertising banners, recycled plastic bottles and other durable materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill and take years – or even centuries – to biodegrade.

Founders Mike Schelbach and Jasper Eales are both passionate surfers who have translated their love for adventure into a growing business that in 2019 enjoyed a watershed year. The young brand expanded from its kiosk at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, to launch its first “experience store” at nearby Dock Road Junction, as well as getting stocked on international online stores Mr Porter, Matches Fashion, END Clothing and Liberty London.

“With our local online store getting more and more orders from New York, Colorado and California, our major initiative is to build a direct online business in the US. We’re also working with sustainable fashion store It’s All Good Folk where, along with a few like-minded brands, we’ll be part of a store-in-store set-up located in the new Thomas Heatherwick-designed Coal Drops Yard in London’s Kings Cross.”

Exciting things are happening locally too, including the release of the seasonal collection ranges previously only available on the global online stores mentioned earlier, a tote bag with sneaker brand Vans, and an eco-sneaker collab that we’ll tell you more about in June.

For more information and to shop online, visit sealandgear.com.

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Smart Idea: Polystyrene Planter

IMAGE Marijke Willems PRODUCTION & WORDS Annemarie Meintjes

Behold, a practical, eco-friendly way to repurpose polystyrene packaging.

Instead of discarding foam packaging moulded into interesting shapes, use the bigger pieces as planters.

We planted dwarf cotton lavender, a shrub with silvery grey foliage and yellow flowers in summer. The best thing about it, however, is that it is a natural insect repellent.

Use it to keep flies and mosquitoes away from the table; it’s so much better than spoiling your drinks with the pungent smell of citronella candles.

Smart Idea: Upcycled Crockery Bird Feeders

IMAGE Dook PRODUCTION & WORDS Annemarie Meintjes

We all have chipped or cracked crockery in the kitchen that we’re loath to throw away, so why not upcycle cups and saucers and plates by making your own bird feeder? The only thing you need to buy is a strong glue such as UHU quickset epoxy adhesive.

Start with the base and build it up to the water bowl:

1. Turn a saucer upside down and glue it to the bottom of a plate as a foot for the feeder.

2. Apply a thin layer of glue to the rim of a cup, turn it upside down and attach it to the centre of the plate.

3. Glue the base of a side plate to the base of the cup.

4. Glue the second cup upright onto the centre of the side plate.

5. Apply a thin layer of glue to the rim of the cup and top it with a second side plate.

6. Finally, glue a deep saucer to the side plate to serve as a water bowl.

Smart Idea: Video Cassettes Turned Kitchen Garden

IMAGE Dook PRODUCTION Klara van Wyngaarden

Transform old video tapes gathering dust in the garage into a kitchen garden.

All you need:

• old video cassettes
• screwdriver
• potting soil
• trailing herb plants such as marjoram or oregano

How to:

Unscrew the top of each cassette. Remove the reels and tape and screw the cassettes back together again. Stand each cassette on its side and, through the holes, fill them halfway with potting soil. Plant trailing herbs or plants with a short root system in each one. Stack the cassettes on top of one another, or hang them on a wall, to create a vertical garden. Remember to water the plants daily, but only in small drops.

Smart Idea: Homemade Candles

IMAGE Marijke Willems PRODUCTION AND WORDS Annemarie Meintjes

Find a purpose for your empty glass cosmetic jars. Transformed into homemade candles, these tubs are sleek and stylish, nifty to stow away and contain the melted wax. A candle in a screw-top glass jar offers light on demand and the benefit of a lid to store.

• Buy a packet of candlewicks that have flat, round metal discs on one end from your local hardware store. Secure the disc to the middle of the base of a clean, dry cosmetic or small glass jar with a drop of superglue. Tie the other end of the wick to a bamboo sosatie stick that can rest flush on top of the jar to keep the wick straight and centred.
• Melt the remains of burnt-down candles – including the last of those half-filled tealights – in an old glass jar in the microwave oven, checking and stirring with a takeaway chopstick regularly.
• Remove any old wicks, dirt and debris from the melted wax and pour slowly into the jar or tub without disturbing the new wick. Give the wax time to settle, cool and become solid again before cutting the wick down to the top of the jar.
• Screw on the top or use immediately to set the mood.

Smart Idea: Plastic Bottle Drawer Organisers

IMAGE Dook PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes

Do away with clutter in kitchen drawers with these simple organisers made from discarded plastic bottles.

Plastic cutlery usually stays behind in the takeaway paper bag or gets discarded without another thought. But with sets available in vibrant colours, solid black or even designed by Philippe Starck, these former disposable objects are now irresistibly collectable.

Rather than dump them in the bottom drawer to join the assortment of straws, chopsticks and other odds and ends, make a special home for them in no time at all.

Collect six bottles in the colour of your choice, remove the labels, wash thoroughly and slice off the spouts with a sharp kitchen knife or Stanley knife. It’s as easy as that.

Smart Idea: Polystyrene Holdall For The Bathroom

PHOTO Dook PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes

Transform old packaging material into a holdall for your bathroom.

New purchases, especially electronics, come with loads of packaging material that can be turned into solutions you may never have considered, like buffers to protect your car doors from banging against the garage walls or a holdall behind the toilet for all those unglamorous necessities.

Smart Idea: Double-walled Glassware Holders

PHOTO Dook PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Taylor Faure

Repurpose all those oddments of single or chipped tumblers by making your own double-walled glassware holders.

Tea lights are such a great invention – and most affordable. Make your own double-walled glassware holders by simply putting a smaller, shorter or taller glass into a larger one.

Not only is this a nifty way to repurpose oddments of single or chipped tumblers, but the glow of many candles will create a wonderfully cosy and intimate atmosphere as well.

Find more Smart Ideas here.

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1. Eight Colour Spectrum Skateboards by Vik Muniz for The Skateroom

The Skateroom has joined forces with Brazilian photographer and artist Vik Muniz, releasing an eight colour spectrum skateboard series that makes use of bright, bold collages to decorate the decks. Five percent of the sales of the decks will be donated to Colectivo Skate Maré, a community upliftment programme, while an additional 15% will go towards helping a school for low-income children in Rio de Janeiro.

Images via theskateroom.com

2. adidas Alphaedge 4D

Innovation meets sustainability in these futuristic unisex running shoes by adidas. The Alphaedge 4D has a technical mesh upper that comes together with an intricate upcycled printed sole made using carbon 4D technology. The shoes are also made using plastic waste intercepted before it reaches the oceans, in collaboration with environmental changemakers Parley.

Images courtesy of adidas

3. Donna Wilson Chairs

The Abstract Edition, created in collaboration with SCP, is one of Scottish textile designer Donna Wilson’s latest collections. It consists, in part, of a series of chairs made from wood offcuts that feature backrests based on her abstract watercolour paintings.

Images via donnawilson.com

4. Spier Light Art Festival Sculpture by David Brits

Local multidisciplinary artist David Brits has revealed an enormous light sculpture to be showcased during this year’s Spier Light Art Festival. The LED sculpture, which imitates a snake, will weave itself around a 300-year-old oak tree. It will be on show from 10 December 2019 until 31 January 2020.

Images courtesy of David Brits

5. New Recycle Collection From Sealand

Local sustainable brand Sealand’s new Recycle collection features a series of urban bag designs made from plastic bottles and upcycled cotton waste. These stylish, durable bags are designed to have a positive impact on the environment.

Images courtesy of Sealand

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Tulsha Booysen’s CanBeam light shines in a major design installation in Nando’s Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

In response to the brief for the Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search in 2015, then schoolgirl Tulsha designed the CanBeam light: an upcycled interpretation of traditional African beadwork using colourful cooldrink cans. Now, 6 800 cans form part of the striking installation in a US branch of the beloved peri-peri chicken chain.

In addition to travelling to Chicago for the installation of the mega-version of the CanBeam light, 2017 also saw Tulsha collaborate with another Nando’s Hot Young Designer finalist, Candice Lawrence, on a design installation at the Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival at Constitution Hill.

As a Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search finalist, Tulsha was mentored by Liani Douglas, as well as interior designer Tracy Lee Lynch and lighting designer Conrad Van der Westhuizen, to take her sketch and develop a prototype of the CanBeam.

“[Before] I thought design was about products,” says Tulsha, “but after meeting and collaborating with strong, creative and beautiful minds, such as Aria Design agency in Chicago, with whom I collaborated to create the large-scale CanBeam; Liani Douglas, who mentored me during and after Nando’s Hot Young Designer Competition; and Tracy Lee Lynch, who opened the design door and has helped me grow immensely as a designer, I have come to learn that design is about creating a life that is better for everyone. It has been a truly life-changing journey.”

Follow Tulsha on Instagram.

The CanBeam can be seen at Nando’s Michigan Avenue in Chicago and, locally, at Nando’s Sea Point and Nando’s Tokai.

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We all have chipped or cracked crockery in the kitchen that we’re loath to throw away, so why not upcycle cups and saucers and plates by making your own bird feeder? The only thing you need to buy is a strong glue such as UHU quickset epoxy adhesive.

Start with the base and build it up to the water bowl:

1. Turn a saucer upside down and glue it to the bottom of a plate as a foot for the feeder.

2. Apply a thin layer of glue to the rim of a cup, turn it upside down and attach it to the centre of the plate.

3. Glue the base of a side plate to the base of the cup.

4. Glue the second cup upright onto the centre of the side plate.

5. Apply a thin layer of glue to the rim of the cup and top it with a second side plate.

6. Finally, glue a deep saucer to the side plate to serve as a water bowl.

Find more Smart Ideas here.

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