Dzaqwsed5

Our holistic approach to kitchens is why 25 years later we are still the country s leading custom kitchen manufacturer

CAPE TOWN

MIDRAND

SANDTON

FOURWAYS

UMHLANGA

DURBAN

HILLCREST

PARK RYNIE

GHANA

TANZANIA

WIN

S A ’ S M O S T B E AU T I F U L M AGA Z I N E

PRIZES WORTH R27 500

DE CO RD IRE

ES

&O

CR

ON

EA TIV

AIS HR OM

SA ’S

OC

EM

ON

ER

GI

T, M

NG

BJE

R65.22

EXCLUDING TAX

E

OTHER COUNTRIES

:M

SA R75

NS

T GE USE S U F OD O LL H HI L ON

IO CT

E THAT RS E O R O G TDFROMIC T O U S I O UR S T S

&BEYOND SOSSUSVLEI DESERT LODGE

PREMIUM PRODUCTS AT NON PREMIUM PRICES Classic is focused on offering only the very best trendsetting products at prices that you deserve.

Our goal is to enhance your everyday lifestyle with functional and practical bathroom solutions for all who choose the Classic experience.

Visit one of our showrooms nationwide and start your Classic journey, like no other.

LUXURY TILES & BATHROOMS LIKE NO OTHER

Durban: 031 579 1900 Johannesburg: 011 656 0400 Cape Town: 021 465 9277

email: info@classicluxury.co.za www.classicluxury.co.za

ClassicLuxury ClassicLuxurySA ClassicLuxury

CHOOSE FROM 3604* BMW VEHICLES WHILE SIPPING YOUR 21-YEAR-OLD MALT BMW NOW OPEN IN YOUR LOUNGE

Introducing a new way to buy BMW. A way that gives you access to every new or approved used BMW in the country, from anywhere. So if you can’t find it, it doesn’t exist.

Learn more at bmw.co.za/anywhere *

At time of publication

Sponsored Content

LUXURY SUV

INNOVATOR

Ever since it established the luxury SUV segment in 1998, the LEXUS RX has developed a proud history of design and technology innovation. Now in its fourth generation, evolutionary elegant styling maintains the RX’s powerful and sporty appearance while creating a coherent flow from front to rear, which gives the vehicle a stronger, more harmonious profile. Visit lexus.co.za

JOY OF LIVING

Ivory Cluny 1000 Cooker

DESIGN YOUR TIMELESS MASTERPIECE

Incanda offers home makers quality, locally produced, authentic furniture that reflects the South African lifestyle and culture.

Cape Town Couch From R 15 300

Kathu Side Table R 3 850

PRETORIA

Swazi Coffee Table R 6 500

Wood Carrier R 900

DURBANVILLE

SOMERSET WEST

showroom@incanda.co.za | www.incanda.co.za

Scatter Cushions R 760 each

Swazi Light Server R 5 000

PA A R L

Clarens Chair R 6 500

BLOEMFONTEIN

HERMANUS

Visit one of our showrooms Johannesburg 227 Jan Smuts Avenue Parktown North 011 447 3149 Centurion 15 Coachmen’s Park, 26 Jakaranda Street Hennopspark 012 653 6808 Cape Town Eagle Park, Computer Road, Montague Gardens 021 555 1034

Manufacturers of Distinctive Decorative Coatings www.cemcrete.co.za

0860 CEMCRETE

enquiry@cemcrete.co.za

R

Happy D.2 Plus. Design and technology perfectly combined.

The perfect combination of iconic design and innovative technology: the bathroom classic Happy D.2 Plus with harmoniously rounded corners in new variants. The unique Duravit technologies like the patented c-bonded open up new, individual solutions. Design by sieger design. Duravit South Africa (Pty) Ltd, 30 Archimedes Road, Kramerville, Sandton, Johannesburg, Telephone +27 (0) 11 555 1220, info@za.duravit.com and www.duravit.com

The complete sensory indulgence awaits you at the premium, award-winning spa.

From a heated indoor hydropool to a relaxing sauna and steam room. Think peace and total tranquility. The ultimate pampering destination – on your doorstep. Your home away from home. Come and revitalise body, mind and spirit, even after a round of golf.

Visit our website to learn more about what (YHILSSH JHU VɈLY `V\ HZ H OVTLV^ULY

www.arabellacountryestate.co.za

Trends to inspire Blurring the lines between

indoor and outdoor spaces

Open plan living continues to dominate design trends with particular focus on seamless transitions between different areas of the home. Blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces is most easily achieved by using the same flooring in the living areas through to the outside patio or deck area. Visit Tile Africa to find your perfect style.

www.tileafrica.co.za

ÂŽ

KUBUS KNG110-52

0 3 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 | e n q u i r y. f s a @ f r a n ke . c o m | w w w. f r a n ke . c o . z a

in beautiful spaces.

Cape Town: 021 510 2846 | Paarden Eiland Johannesburg: 011 262 3117 | Sandton Durban: 031 000 1000 | Umhlanga nick@oggie.co.za www.oggieflooring.com

Camissa House, Higgovale. Architect & Interior Designers: Make Studio.

Oggie European Oak Chevron with WOCA Denmark White UV Oil.

...oak Chevron flooring

VISI

ED’S LETTER p26

CONTRIBUTORS p28

VISI.CO.ZA p30

VISION REPORTBACK: MAISON&OBJET p38 INSPIRATION: LOUIS VUITTON’S RESTAURANT p44

ARTIST: BANELE KHOZA p46 DESIGN DECONSTRUCTION: BRUTALISM p50

VOICES

ts

TRAVEL DIARY: ROBERT SILKE’S HAWAII p54

FEATURES

SARAH WILD p57 NOX MAKUNGA p58 CHRIS ROPER p60

&BEYOND SOSSUSVLEI DESERT LODGE p66 CITY BOWL HOME p78 WATERBERG HOME p90 BISHOPSCOURT HOME p100 TIMBAVATI LODGE p112 PRETORIA HOME p120 TAMBOERSKLOOF HOME p130

PARTNER CONTENT

MAZDA – THE SOUL OF DESIGN p141

REASONS

1. VISI profiles four of Design Indaba 2020’s finest Emerging Creatives p158 2. Fall in lust with Laguna, a nature-inspired coffee table by Okha p162 3. Durban salon Annaesthetic will do anything but put you to sleep p164 4. All about designer-maker Laurie Wiid’s career journey to date p166 5. A roundup of the latest WOMAG flooring and cladding products p168 6. Take a tour of the brand new Spier Art Route p170 7. Meet four of SA’s bespoke guitar makers p172 8. Joburg-based artist Sir Abner creates the Bold Print of the Year p174 9. Two inspiring buildings: a rural school and an HIV research centre p176 10. VISI's pick of the loveliest new wallpaper options p178 11. An innovative new pavilion transforms the Joburg Country Club p180 12. The future is now: the LG OLED TV R has a rollable screen p182 13. Exploring Pineapple House, a bright boutique hotel in Cape Town p184 14. Discover a fresh approach to colour at Paintsmiths in Kramerville p186 15. Ashia cheetah sanctuary blends conservation with sleek design p188 16. Be dazzled by the latest Tom Dixon lighting designs p190 17. Go monochrome all over with sleek home furnishings and objects p192 18. These new pendant lights by Mash T. will instantly enliven a space p194 19. Designs and products from the subcontinent at the IGHF Delhi Fair p196 20. Elegantly updated, Haute Cabriere restaurant also sports great views p198 21. Pick the perfect local rum for your Dark and Stormy cocktail p200 22. Get outside this autumn with gardening books that inspire p202

WIN p62 SMART IDEA p208 COVER IMAGE CREDIT Photograph Dook

visi.co.za

| 025

Ed’s

letter

STEVE SMITH, EDITOR info@visi.co.za

026 |

visi.co.za

PORTRAIT JAN RAS

There is no such thing as a new idea” – words famously uttered by Mark Twain. “It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn, and they make new and curious combinations.”

I don’t buy it.

First, I don’t think old Mark actually believed that – he had a penchant for winding everyone up (and particularly, I suspect, people who held great sway in weighty quotes) – and second, he never read this issue of VISI. There are some designs in this month’s edition that only the deeply cynical could label as derivative.

Have a look at the Frankie Pappas-penned House of the Big Arch and House of the Tall Chimneys on page 90, and tell me this isn’t a truly fresh approach to building a home uniquely sensitive to its surroundings. And Luis Mira’s astonishing Bishopscourt home on page 100 … it quite literally made our jaws drop when we first saw images of the rear façade that appears to be a slice of a 1970s Manhattan high-rise, magically transposed to a leafy Western Cape suburb.

And even if it’s not, strictly speaking, a new idea, I really love seeing people do something unexpected. The &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (page 66) looks more like a James Bond vs Mad Max movie set than the usual luxury lodge – and while the newly built Tamboerskloof abode on page 130 may at first glance be a beautiful though relatively conventional home, walk inside and you’ll witness its owners’ colourful and wonderfully quirky decor sense.

These are just a few of the properties that make up an issue broadly themed around The Great Outdoors. As a counterpoint to VISI 106’s Small Spaces focus, our features in 107 look at lodges in the actual great outdoors, as well as homes that are either uniquely embedded in the landscape or have a fresh take on the idea of indoor/outdoor living.

Of course, in our Vision and Reasons sections you can again peruse a host of inspirational local and international decor ideas, noteworthy public architecture, maverick artwork – and a selection of South African rums. I’m told it’s the new gin. No doubt Mark would have something to say about that.

ANTON MARSHALL, FREELANCE WRITER AND MUSICIAN What do you love most about the great outdoors?

I love early mornings – the sounds of the open country at sunrise. Some people describe it as silence, but there’s a lot to hear and a lot going on, if you take a moment to listen.

With an ear for good music – and good instruments – Anton tracks down four celebrated local luthiers on page 172.

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Steve Smith Deputy Editor Annemarie Meintjes Creative Director Mark Serra Designer Mpumelelo Bhengu Managing Editor Samantha Charles Acting Features Editor Robyn Alexander Online Editor Lindi Brownell Meiring Content Producer Michaela Stehr Contributors Adéle de Lange, Amelia Brown, Ania Rokita, Annette Klinger, Anton Marshall, Biddi Rorke, Celeste Jacobs, Chris Roper, Diane de Beer, Dook, Greg Cox, Jan Ras, Lutendo Malatji, Lynette Botha, Melanie Reeder-Powell, Mila Crewe-Brown, Nafisa Akabor, Natalie Boruvka, Nox Makunga, Paris Brummer, Robert Silke, Robyn Alexander, Sarah Buitendach, Tracy Lynn Chemaly

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

What do you love most about the great outdoors?

“The Great Outdoors” sounds like a good title for a Wes Anderson film, in which case I love everything about it. I fit the mould of an unfit creative, so I’d have to say the closest I get to hiking is sitting on my veranda and watching the hikers on Lion’s Head. But I cannot deny that a hot coffee and rare elephant spotting on an early-morning safari is heaven on earth.

Taking a break from her veranda, Paris photographs a spectacular home (which has a view of Lion’s Head) on page 130.

ROBYN ALEXANDER, FREELANCE EDITOR AND WRITER What do you love most about the great outdoors?

I’m from a family of birders, so I do enjoy a spot of twitching on occasion – but, really, it’s the quality of the air outside the confines of the city that I love most. Filling one’s lungs with genuinely fresh air is a muchunderestimated pleasure, I think.

Robyn writes about Laureen Rossouw’s inspiring Cape Town home, a showcase of mid-century design, on page 78.

PUBLISHING

Group Account Director Raiël le Roux Production Manager Shirley Quinlan

MANAGEMENT

Managing Director Aileen Lamb Commercial Director Maria Tiganis Brand Strategy Director Andrew Nunneley Chief Financial Officer Venette Malone Head of HR Camillah West CEO: Media24 Ishmet Davidson

DISTRIBUTION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Distribution RNA Distribution Print and digital subscriptions 087 405 2005 (local) +27 21 045 1809 (international) subs@magsathome.co.za

Reproduction New Media, a division of Media24 (Pty) Ltd Printing CTP Printers Cape Town Published by New Media, a division of Media24 (Pty) Ltd, New Media House, 19 Bree Street, Cape Town 8001 PO Box 440, Green Point, Cape Town 8051 021 417 1111 / newmedia.co.za / visi@visi.co.za

All rights reserved. Whereas precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information, neither the editor, publisher nor New Media can be held liable for any inaccuracies, injury or damages that may arise. The opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect those of the publisher.

16 295 (Q2 2019)

028 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS BELIA OH PHOTOGRAPHY, CHRIS ROPER, SUPPLIED

PARIS BRUMMER, PHOTOGRAPHER AND CO-FOUNDER OF STUDIO MIRU

Key Account Manager Diane Lubbe 083 391 1651 Key Account Manager Eva Cookson 076 662 0785 Key Account Manager Hannelie Stemmet 083 448 2074 Key Account Manager Elna Coetzer (Cape Town) 021 417 5151 / 082 971 9715

LET US DESIGN* YOUR

DREAM KITCHEN

WIN

R1 MILLION CASH VISIT

easylifekitchens.co.za *Ts & Cs apply

A PASSION FOR PERFECTION. Transform your kitchen space into the heart and soul of your home. Our team of designers create perfect living areas, from kitchens to built-in features that fit your lifestyle.

28 years of quality service.

Proud member of KSA (Kitchen Specialists Association).

30 showrooms countrywide. 2 year kitchen guarantee.

0861 327 9543 www.easylifekitchens.co.za

visi. o. a Can’t wait for the next issue of VISI? Get your daily dose at VISI.co.za.

WIN WITH VICTORIA GIN

One VISI reader will win five bottles of Victoria Luxury Gin in the brand’s varietals – Classic Pink, Blue, Dry, Amber, and Orange Blossom & Rose – plus a drinks trolley and a set of four glasses, valued at R5 000. To enter this competition,

WE ASKED YOU ONLINE

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM KITCHEN STYLE? More than 500 of you took our poll online to let us know. Here are the results:

24% 39% Ultramodern

Simple and Scandi

15% Industrial

22% Country-chic

TOP PICKS

FROM EMBROIDERED LANDSCAPES AND GIANT MURALS TO COOL SPACES AND NEW RELEASES, THERE ARE MORE THAN 1 600 PICKS CHOSEN FROM ACROSS THE WORLD ON THE VISI WEBSITE SO FAR. DON’T MISS OUT ON OUR WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF 5 FAVOURITES.

#READERLOVE Are you a big fan of the latest issue? Let us know! Simply tag VISI on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with a snap of your copy.

Holiday routine beach, eat, sleep and repeat

@_jennamcarthur

December in VISI: Five crisp summer sips in the @visi_mag Holiday Issue

@visi_mag nailing their Holiday Issue cover

Beach essentials

@jojohedley

@mikeipp01

@tshepangmolisana

INSTANT INSPIRATION Follow @visi_mag on Instagram, where we share some of the best and most beautiful designs from around the globe.

030 |

visi.co.za

WORDS LINDI BROWNELL MEIRING FIND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE COMPETITION ON PAGE 62. NOT FOR UNDER 18s.

go to VISI.co.za/win.

Dornbracht Meta Minimalism meets individuality

Discover the whole variety of Meta on meta.dornbracht.com

Flush Bathrooms 37 Paarden Eiland Rd. info@flushbathrooms.co.za Phone 021 5117888

visi.co.za

NEED INSPIRATION?

RENOVATING YOUR SPACE AND LOOKING FOR DECOR, DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE IDEAS?

BROWSE MORE THAN 4 400 ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITE FOR INSPIRATION. VISI.CO.ZA

SIT. STAND. MOVE. REPEAT. UPLIFT HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY IN YOUR WORKPLACE WITH OUR CLEVER RANGE OF SIT-TO-STAND DESKING. A COMBINATION OF SITTING, STANDING AND MOVING IS VITAL WHEN WORKING AT A DESK.

EXPERTS IN SIT-STAND ERGONOMICS.

YOUR OFFICE. DESIGNED. DELIVERED. 0861 OFFICE (633423) | INFO@CECILNURSE.CO.ZA | WWW.CECILNURSE.CO.ZA

I

S

LIGHT (AND DARK) FANTASTIC At Maison&Objet, Serax presented a collection of tableware by Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester. Named Dé, the range explores chiaroscuro – the complex interplay of light and shadow – and features beautiful, handpainted degradé edges. serax.com

036 |

visi.co.za

FINE LINES AND DELIGHTFULLY TACTILE DETAILING

FRINGE BENEFITS Also by Ann Demeulemeester for Serax and very much demonstrating her fashion-designer´s take on detailing are these gorgeously tactile Chan lamps, which are sure to appeal to maximalists everywhere. serax.com

visi.co.za

| 037

s FROM PARIS, NATURALLY

Earlier this year, iconic Parisian trade fair MAISON&OBJET celebrated 25 years of decoration, design and lifestyle by kicking off the new decade under the future-forward banner of (RE)GENERATION. W O R D S A N N E M A R I E M E I N TJ E S

Held at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition complex, the show explored trends in consumer behaviour driven by generations Y and Z, with a focus on the way consumers are bringing nature and sustainable materials back into their lifestyle. The next Maison&Objet will be held from 4 to 8 September. Here are our favourite designs from the January edition. maison-objet.com

1

2

3

1. ANN DEMEULEMEESTER The Belgian fashion designer also showed her matte-green Ra tableware range, as well as the versatile Frances range of mouth-blown lead-free crystal glasses, suitable for most drinks. serax.com 2. CHIARAMONTE/MARIN Emu is a brand that considers the garden to be the fifth room of the house, and designs its items from 100%-recyclable materials. The steel mesh-based Ficus range was inspired by the cactus – and is equally able to resist adversity. emu.it 3. MARCANTONIO Designed by Marcantonio for Seletti, the Desert Sunrise range consists of table and floor lamps made of blown glass. seletti.it

038 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED

PLANT-BASED

s TREE-BASED

4. CACOON These cosy cotton and polyester cocoons are perfect if you want to switch off from the world. cacoonworld.com

HAND-FELTED

5. SANDRIVER Founded by Juliet Guo, the Mongolian cashmere brand brought the nomadic lifestyle to Paris – including this exquisite cashmere, silk and felt blanket. sandrivercashmere.com 6. RONEL JORDAAN Capetonian Ronel Jordaan is known for her innovative use of felted wool. Her Animal Trophy Heads are made from hand-felted 100% merino wool over a wire frame. roneljordaan.com

4

5

6

8

7 WATER-BASED 7. EVOLUTION The South African brand’s fabric panels were selected by French decor guru Elizabeth Leriche as part of her exhibit. The Nymphae series features prints of dried and pressed water-lily specimens. evolutionproduct.co.za 8. POLS POTTEN Dutch interiors brand Pols Potten, which started in Amsterdam back in 1986, showcased these delicate MyKiss Fish Lights in unglazed porcelain, designed by Minke van Voorthuizen. polspotten.nl

s

9 10

11

INTO THE LIGHT

9. MICHAEL ANASTASSIADES Maison&Objet’s Designer of the Year 2020 is all about simple shapes and volume.

For the first time, all 16 of the Cypriot designer’s acclaimed Mobile Chandeliers were showcased together – propelled by motors, they moved through the dark exhibition space like planets. michaelanastassiades.com 10. AMEBE Italian design studio AMeBE created the beautiful Cupolone chandelier for Seletti. The lamp pays tribute to an architectural icon: the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. seletti.it 11. PHILIPPE NIGRO The Respiro Pendant is the first collaboration between French designer Philippe Nigro and DCW Éditions. With a name that means breath in Italian and an open, downwards-facing-book shape, it definitely lends itself to soft, cosy surroundings. dcw-editions.fr

040 |

visi.co.za

s 12

13

CORDLESS

12. DCW ÉDITIONS COLLABORATIONS Especially relevant for us South Africans during the incessant load shedding are these cordless, LED-integrated, battery-operated table lamps. Knokke (left) and Boucle (right) were designed by Éric de Dormael, while In The Sun (centre) was designed by Dominique Perrault and Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost. dcw-editions.fr 13. HISLE The Luxicole lamp is available in three sizes (18cm-34cm) and five finishes (white, silver, black, gold and aluminium). The LED lights work off batteries that can be recharged in three-and-a-half hours. hisle.fr

s CAPTAIN LOUIS

Recently opened Louis Vuitton Maison Osaka Midosuji houses the iconic French fashion brand’s very first café – and a kind-of-hard-to-find restaurant.

WORDS STEVE SMITH

he store’s design is a collaboration between architects Jun Aoki and Peter Marino, and reflects Osaka’s heritage as Japan’s most important port. Aoki, known for his work on a number of Louis Vuitton stores in Japan and around the world (including New York’s 5th Avenue Maison), drew on Osaka’s history as a seafaring city, creating a light, airy white structure inspired by the traditional higaki kaisen cargo ship and its billowing sails.

Inside, Marino followed similar inspirations, connecting the store’s four floors to both the maritime feel of the building and to Japanese culture. Wooden floors give the impression of decks, with wood-clad pillars and metal ceilings reminiscent of a grand yacht embarking on an exciting adventure. Traditional materials such as origami washi paper feature throughout.

Located on the top floor of this spectacular new building is Le Café V, with a menu curated by celebrated chef Yosuke Suga, whose Tokyo restaurant Sugalabo was recently listed among the best in the world. Next to Le Café V’s cocktail bar, a hidden speakeasy-style door allows access to the Sugalabo V, also housed within the building. Like its sibling establishment, it’s only accessible to those in the know – the booking process and entrance to this restaurant are closely kept secrets.

Well, sort of…

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT The purity of the façade is reinforced by metal fretwork motifs at ground level, giving the impression of a ship floating on water; the airy store breathes the city’s energy while offering clients a sense of calm and respite; the top floor optimises its proximity to the sky, with the sun playing off the sea-like terrazzo floor and coloured ceiling decorations.

044 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED

T

s On the Rise

Artist and curator Banele Khoza’s career is going from strength to strength, with several international shows coming up in 2020 and a range of other projects.

P H O T O L U T E N D O M A L A TJ I W O R D S LY N E T T E B O T H A

e might be an award-winning visual artist and the founder of BKhz gallery and studio, but 26-year-old Banele Khoza says that when he was growing up, a career in the arts seemed like a pipe dream. Born in Hlatikulu in Swaziland, he moved to South Africa as a teen, later pursuing a degree in fashion design at the London International School of Fashion. Quickly realising that the drawing and design aspects were not as much of a priority at LISOF as he’d expected, he decided to follow his passion for the arts, and transferred to a fine-arts course at the Tshwane University of Technology.

“The lack of belonging I felt in my community growing up is what drew me to art,” he says. “I had to find a way to occupy my mind, so I started drawing and journalling. Through this, I was able to create a world in which I felt accepted.”

With many solo and group exhibitions already behind him, it’s safe to say that his childhood dream has been realised.

“I have managed to cultivate this life, which I’m so proud of; now I’m also building spaces for others to realise their dreams,” he says. “This is what helped me take the leap to self-representation – and to open my gallery, BKhz, which I feel has been a defining moment in my career. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, for sure, but the response I’ve had has been phenomenal.”

Asked about the artists he looks up to, Banele says they include Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. “I love her work – she paints so graciously, with an honest perspective.” He also thinks that Lunga Ntila is one to watch – “the future of contemporary art”.

But if he could own just one piece of art regardless of the price tag, it would be Moshekwa by Marlene Dumas – the compelling portrait that inspired him to become a painter. “I draw my inspiration from life and love,” he says. “There is inspiration everywhere in life, and the experiences of life could be love.”

Banele’s upcoming exhibitions include a solo show in the Netherlands titled “The Boys I Have Liked”, and a group show in London curated by Gabi Ngcobo, and he will once again be co-curating the FNB Art Joburg Gallery Lab in September.

“I will also be going to New York for the Ampersand Fellowship, and I will hopefully get to see life from a different perspective,” he says. “I’m excited.”

Contemplating his journey and where he finds himself at present, he says the advice he’d give to his younger self would be simple: “You are capable. You are worthy of love. You will succeed. It won’t be easy, but you’ll do it.” We’d have to agree…

H

bkhz.art

046 |

visi.co.za

Banele with Frances Goodman’s unique work Envygelical, part of the “Making of Ourselves” group exhibition at the BKhz gallery in February 2020.

s “I DRAW MY INSPIRATION FROM LIFE AND LOVE. THERE IS INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE IN LIFE, AND THE EXPERIENCES OF LIFE COULD BE LOVE.”

FOURWAYS Tel: (011) 691-7700

SILVER LAKES Tel: (012) 809-3519

CAPE TOWN Tel: (021) 003-8477

UMHLANGA Tel: (031) 566-6777

www.sevens.co.za

s Design Deconstruction

BRUTALISM

Behind its dramatic concrete façade, Brutalism holds a deep sensitivity towards social interaction and community engagement.

W O R D S T R A C Y LY N N C H E M A LY

adly, you can’t see much of Cape Town’s Werdmuller Centre. Barricaded behind corrugated steel, this dilapidated 1970s building in Claremont was designed by local architect Roelof Uytenbogaardt, and is a rare South African example of Brutalism’s bold architectural approach. Where it peeks out above the three-metre-high enclosure, you get a hint of the genre’s typical aesthetic: audacious structures of raw concrete set out in monolithic geometric forms of rigid angles and, at times, massive volumetric curves.

And it’s this crude, fortress-like appearance that has seen Brutalism labelled as cold and imposing by its detractors.

Its moniker, however, comes from béton brut (raw concrete), the iconic French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier’s material of choice. It was he who laid the foundation for

S

050 |

visi.co.za

a generation of Brutalist architects that emerge from the 1950s to the ’70s. The more celebrated names among them include Alison and Peter Smithson (England), Paul Rudolph (USA), Clorindo Testa (Italy/Argentina), Kenzō Tange (Japan) and Lina Bo Bardi (Brazil).

A furtive look through the Werdmuller’s steel blockade affords a more valuable insight into the principles on which Brutalism was founded. The old shopping centre has elevated public ramps, souk-like retail hubs, exposure to natural light, and a connecting thoroughfare between the train station on one end and the suburb on the other.

It was Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation social housing scheme in Marseille and the Smithsons’ Garden Building for St Hilda’s College in Oxford that further solidified this original sensitivity for context and social engagement.

PHOTOS GETTY IMAGES

1

s 2

3

IT ECHOED THE UTOPIAN IDEOLOGY FOR LIVING AND WORKING IN WAYS THAT WERE OPEN AND GENEROUS. 5

4 1. Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego, designed by William Pereira. 2. The National Theatre in London, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun.

3. French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. 4. Art space interior at Sesc Pompeia in São Paulo, designed

by Lina Bo Bardi. 5. St Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo, designed by Kenzō Tange.

visi.co.za

| 051

s 8

6

9

7

Their collective aim was inclusivity, and connecting the micro-societies that exist in diverse community structures.

In a post-WWII era, Brutalism’s ideals lay in rebuilding ruined cities with a modernist approach that allowed for high-density spaces to be constructed quickly, using new technologies and keeping costs low. By exposing materials to highlight their elemental roughness, the architectural transparency and honesty echoed the utopian ideology for living and working in ways that were open and generous.

Another of Uytenbogaardt’s masterpieces, the UCT Sports Centre, demonstrates this employment of vast volumes, where one open hall leads to the next via extensive walkways. But of local structures, it’s the Rodney Grosskopff-designed Ponte Tower in Hillbrow

that probably best encompasses everything Brutalism stands for. A radical, cylindrical, grey-concrete sculpture marking the Johannesburg skyline – either adored or abhorred – this 54-storey edifice thrives as an apartment block for all, with restaurants, a barber shop, a convenience store and a children’s community centre on the ground floor accessed by those passing by the building on foot, linking it to the vibrant street culture of the area.

It would be unfair to call Brutalism brutal. The ideology that underpins it – and the way those ideals are employed in buildings like Bo Bardi’s Sesc Pompeia in São Paulo (a community and recreation centre, library, theatre, exhibition space and more) and Tange’s Hiroshima Peace Centre – warrants a much gentler interpretation.

6. The Werdmuller Centre, Cape Town, designed by Roelof Uytenbogaardt. 7. Fuji-Sankei Communications Group HQ in Odaiba, Tokyo, designed by Kenzō Tange. 8. Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee, County Durham, designed by Victor Passmore.

9. Sarasota High School, Florida, designed by Paul Rudolph.

052 |

visi.co.za

s Travel Diary

ROBERT SILKE

Architect Robert Silke spent his December Builders’ Holiday in Honolulu, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Yes, it took a 29-hour flight and a 12-hour time difference to get this Capetonian onto a beach…

PHOTOS AND WORDS ROBERT SILKE

A LONG WAY TO GO FOR A BEACH VACATION I am not a “beach person”. Photogenic Cape Town may well resemble paradise, but the south-easter, the cold Atlantic, the thin ozone and the dodgy public lavatories keep this Jew pale and melanoma-free. United Airlines now flies direct from Cape Town to Newark, but it’s still 29 hours each way – including layovers – for the unlikely swap of summer in Cape Town with winter in its antipode, Hawaii. But Honolulu in December is a paradise, with God’s thermostat set at a constant 24°C, no bugs and no great whites. What’s more, it’s a fully fledged American commercial city, where everything functions and gleams. Like Miami, Honolulu is a tropical resort for city slickers.

TROPICAL ARCHITECTURE But that’s where the Miami comparisons end. Major development started after World War II, and only moved into full gear after Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. So there’s scant Art Deco; instead, you’ll find a pleasingly homogeneous and rather grand array of exuberant, prosperous, tropical, latemodernist high-rises (think revolving restaurants and Hawaii Five-O). There’s also some brave Brutalism, not conventionally pretty and often popularly derided;

At the Aulani Disney resort’s beach, Disney manages the public changing rooms. Around Waikiki Beach (the Camps Bay and Clifton of Honolulu), the sidewalks are lined with Gucci and Prada stores, and finished in glistening sandstone paving – which seamlessly gives way to the Hilton’s guest pool area, creating a wall-free public thoroughfare to the beach.

WHERE TO STAY Hawaii (and Oahu in particular) is not cheap by any standard, and Airbnb listings are few and far between. We stayed at two Hiltons and a Holiday Inn Express – which once again vindicated my hard-learnt dictum that a brand-new two-star property always beats a 40-year-old five-star property. Hands down.

EATING OUT We avoided the tourist traps around Waikiki, and pursued our penchant for drive-ins, dives and hole-inthe-wall diners. The highlights included Oreo milkshakes made with cream crackers and cream cheese, and pulledpork sandwiches with guava barbecue relish – both from Kono’s Northshore. Leonard’s Bakery (for Portuguese-style malasada doughnuts) and Helena’s Hawaiian Food (for authentic home cooking) both require queuing outside and/or eating these amazing things on a parking-lot bench.

Beach-side food trucks (such as Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

HONOLULU IN DECEMBER IS A PARADISE, WITH GOD’S THERMOSTAT SET AT A CONSTANT 24°C. you should rather try to think of it as late Art Deco or naked Art Deco (which it is) – and imagine it plastered and with a coat of pink paint, so as to acquire the taste for it.

INTEGRATED CITY As you might expect from a paradise, there are no walls or fences to be seen. All beaches are public. When you lounge at the Four Seasons’ beach, you get to use all of the Four Seasons’ facilities.

on North Shore) offer some of the best, most affordable cuisine on the island. Polynesian Hawaii has a primarily porcine and fish-based diet, and the Japanese influence is strong. My partner Gideon got into musubi – a spam sushi – while I avoided raw fish bowls, mindful of the Homer Simpson adage that “Poke is just okay…” robertlaszlosilke

1. Honolulu’s grand late modernism is exquisitely maintained. 2. Suburban life can be somewhat less glamorous. 3. Leonard’s Bakery serves malasadas to a constant queue of customers. 4. It took a 29-hour flight and a 12-hour time difference to get Robert onto a beach. 5. Art Deco is a rare find in the city. 6. Not just a pretty face, Honolulu is a major American capital. 7. The throne room at Iolani Palace displays gowns designed for royalty. 8. You don’t get cantilevers like this in Sea Point… 9. Managed by Disney and the Four Seasons, Paradise Cove is open to the public. 10. Sensuous tropical Brutalism should be forgiven as naked Art Deco.

054 |

visi.co.za

s

1

3

2

4

6

8

5

7

9

10

75% lower in kJ

Effective as part of a kilojoule controlled diet.

= 1 bottle of Almost Zero has the same amount of kilojoules as a normal glass of wine

Less than 0.4% alcohol

You can enjoy to your heart’s content.

= 38 glasses of Almost Zero has the same alcohol content as 1 glass of wine @ 12.5%

Low in sugar

A lot less sugar than other non-alcohol options, such as juice. So much healthier!

= 10 glasses of Almost Zero has the same sugar content as 1 glass of orange juice

V I S I

/

VO I C E S

Back of Beyond

Finding herself unexpectedly vulnerable on a deserted road to Sutherland, writer SARAH WILD was reminded that the natural world can be an alien place. t isn’t every day that you do something life-threateningly stupid. Our cities and towns are bubbles of civilisation, and just outside their confines are South Africa’s wild lands – great open spaces in which the landscape is the same as it was thousands of years ago.

It was March 2014, and the sun beat down on my little rental car. I was on a solo road trip, navigating the silver ribbons of Karoo road between telescopes in the Northern Cape. I was travelling from South Africa’s radio telescope site near Carnarvon and the concrete pads that would eventually sprout the giant metal flowers that form the MeerKAT telescope. The Google god, that omniscient presence in the city, suggested I take a road between Calvinia and Sutherland, where more than two dozen optical telescopes populate a hill just outside of town.

It was 80 kilometres away, Google said. It would take an hour, Google said. Google lied.

Two hours later, I was 20km in, with half a bottle of water in the car, no cellphone reception, and the sickening knowledge that no-one knew where I was.Road was a generous term for the collection of rocks I was inching over; every so often, a “boing” would reverberate through the tense silence as a rock bounced off the chassis. Was this it? The final knock of calamity that popped a tyre or punctured something vital in the car’s underbelly? The last house had been at the turn-off, and any future house – if there was one – would surely be inhabited by ogres, trolls and murderers. I was hours away from possible assistance and without enough water to quench my present thirst, let alone the future’s.

Undulating hills of tufty grass spread out in all directions. More than 250-million years ago, when the continents shifted, this had This been a giant inland ocean and these hills were under millions of tons remembered a of water. In the heat of the long afternoon, it held the same silence. time before This land remembered a time before people, and cellphones with no reception, and cars with tiny engines. I was alone, and the only and person in the world.

Most of South Africa’s inhabitants live in or near cities. We seldom with no reception, and cars experience that sense of space in our need to bounce from one with tiny engines. meeting to another, trapped in cars amid a torrent of traffic. But there are panoramic landscapes that have sat in their own stillness for I was hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and a giant blue sky that stretches and the only person from horizon to horizon. In those places, when you breathe in, you in the inhale the rarefied air of heaven.

The sun was setting as I rolled over a hill and saw the lights of Sutherland in the distance, still clammy with eight-hour-old sweat, my knuckles sore from having gripped the wheel so tightly for so long.

The town lights sparkled like fireflies as night fell, ephemeral and warm. But overhead the vaults of heaven had opened, and millions of diamond stars watched me just as astronomers in the distance were observing them – another great frontier waiting to be explored.

I

LAND

PEOPLE, CELLPHONES ALONE,

PORTRAIT SUPPLIED

WORLD.

In a previous life, SARAH studied physics, electronics and English literature in an effort to make herself unemployable. It didn’t work, so she read for an MSc in bioethics and health law to see if she could truly study herself out of the job market.

Since she started perpetrating journalism for a living, she has written about particle physics, cosmology and everything in between, and can usually be found in a desert somewhere looking at telescopes, fossils or strange otherworldly creatures.

visi.co.za

| 057

V I S I

/

VO I C E S

Beyond “Zoochauvinism”

University of Stellenbosch biotechnology professor NOX MAKUNGA reflects on the ways in which urbanisation and modern technology can distance us from the natural world. y fondest memories of growing up on the University of Fort Hare campus with a father who lectured botany – the late Professor Oswald Makunga – and a mother who was renowned in our little town of Alice for her spectacular garden, are linked to having the freedom to play and just be outside. My world as a five-year-old simply included the “great outdoors” as a given – my parents’ only rule was “return before sunset”. This was before I could actually tell time.

I might have taken the simple pleasures of long days spent outdoors for granted, but they have fast become a luxury for many as movement to urban environments increasingly keeps us indoors, and our society becomes more plant-blind and, at times, totally oblivious to nature – even when we are in the most beautiful natural spaces.

What’s more, technology can keep us locked inside even when we are outdoors. The modern trappings of life, such as mobile electronic devices, entangle us in their social-networking webs. Table Mountain is one of the natural wonders of the world, but many of its visitors seem to be simply trying to take the perfect selfie. They remain unaware of the endemic erica flowering in all its splendour, and the significance of its unique adaptive traits, which span millennia in their evolution.

Then there’s the influence of “zoochauvinism” – the notion that plants are inferior to animals – recognised as being pervasive in our society in the late 1980s and most definitely continuing today, with plants so often devalued (or entirely ignored).

Unfortunately, I often hear people say, “Plants are boring.” But as a plant scientist by training, I can assure you they are not.

There are some positive shifts away from this thinking afoot these days, however, with current interior and exterior design trends drawing inspiration from plants and moving away from stark, minimalistic spaces. It seems that sales of indoor plants are booming – or, dare I say, “blooming” – as many people who live in small urban spaces attempt to reconnect with nature.

Conversations around climate change and activism as a in this area are also encouraging urban dwellers to five-year-old simply plant more plants, and to choose water-wise and included the carbon-efficient species that could help to re-engineer “ our environment.

Any trends that enable us to see plants more clearly as a given – give me a sense of hope, as this means that our attitudes are slowly shifting. Perhaps one day, when I stand in only rule was “return front of a first-year biology class, I will not need to remind my students that it is plants that give us the air before sunset”. we breathe, the clothes we wear, the food we eat and even the medicine that heals us.

I often wonder how different my career choice would have been had I grown up in an environment where plants were deemed unimportant. Instead, the great outdoors was so much part and parcel of daily living for me that it seemed entirely natural for botany to become – and remain – my focus in life.

M

MY WORLD

GREAT OUTDOORS”

PROFESSOR NOX MAKUNGA teaches undergraduates, supervises postgraduate students, and does research at the University of Stellenbosch. Her research takes “a multidirectional approach that combines biotechnology, ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry”. Its main focus is investigating how plants – in particular the unique plants of the Cape floral kingdom – might be used to create treatments for complex medical conditions in human beings.

PORTRAIT SUPPLIED

MY PARENTS’

V I S I

/

VO I C E S

The Grey-Haired Grouse

For a sea person – well, sort of a sea person – navigating his way through The Bush has proved a challenge for CHRIS ROPER. like to think of myself as an outdoors person, having grown up in a family of fisherfolk, boat builders and divers. But I was an urban sea person, launching boats from ramps in Three Anchor Bay, or close to what is now the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, where you can grab a quick manicure and a takeaway sushi before you brave the pitiless elements and slaughter unsuspecting fish.

Sure, I’ve almost drowned a couple of times, and once almost sank a boat when it hit a floating cow (long story, but to reassure you, it was a dead cow). In most cases, though, I could have waved bravely at tourists taking pictures before I disappeared under water. And I was once shipwrecked (I flipped my dinghy) and washed up on what I thought was a desert isle, but turned out to be Clifton 4th on a rainy day. In none of this did I ever encounter what South Africans further north refer to as The Bush.

As a young Capetonian, I was often perplexed when people told me they were off to The Bush. How, I wondered, did they fit all those people around one bush? And what was so fascinating about it?

It wasn’t the only linguistic confusion I’d suffer. When I was finally introduced to the magical and mythical bush, it was a culture shock. My ability to identify different species of Atlantic fish meant nothing in this world, where birds, reptiles and land mammals reigned supreme.

Being stuck in a Land Rover for days, with people sipping execrable instant coffee and smiling pityingly at you when you can’t identify a flash of bird in the undergrowth, is not fun. And bird-watching is perhaps the most sadistic of hobbies. To confuse outsiders, they deliberately name birds so as to ignore how they actually look. So an impossibly garish scarlet bird will be called a “Brown-Toed Whomper” or something equally counterintuitive.And there’s a special humiliation in sitting quietly with everyone, reverently watching a small dung beetle inch its way across a road, and only realising half an hour later that they’re actually all looking at a leopard up a tree.

So imagine how I leapt at the chance, in the highlands of Zimbabwe, to contribute to the conversation when I noticed that our overnight camp was named Duiker Chalets.

“Interesting,” I said thoughtfully, stroking my imaginary Being stuck in a beard. “Why would they name a camp in a landlocked country after a seabird?” When the cruel laughter subsided, for days, with people I was informed that a duiker is a small antelope, and only in the Cape does it refer to a seabird.Why the hell would you call a buck a diver? Can those things even swim?

But if you persevere, good things will happen. While I’m at you when you still fairly incompetent at spotting and naming animals in can’t identify a flash of bird the wild, I’m comfortable enough to fake it when showing overseas guests around a national park. And while the in the undergrowth, identification of animals might still be hazy, the magic of the . bush has become real. It’ll never be the sea, but it has its own outdoorsy charms.

I

LAND ROVER

SMILING PITYINGLY

CHRIS is deputy CEO at Code for Africa, the continent’s largest federation of civic technology a nd data journalism labs. He has been editor-in-chief of both the Mail & Guardian and 24.com – jobs as far from the great outdoors as it’s possible to get.

60 |

visi.co.za

PORTRAIT SUPPLIED

IS NOT FUN

V I S I

/

B I G

W I N

WIN with Woodbender Two lucky VISI readers will each win a Plettenberg Tub Chair and a Salsa Stool from South African bentwood furniture manufacturer Woodbender, worth R10 000.

The Woodbender Plettenberg Tub Chair is a compact, lightweight occasional chair designed with comfort top of mind. The wooden frame can withstand high-traffic environments, and the chair is easy to reupholster and move around to adapt to your needs.

The multifunctional Salsa Stool is a versatile piece that can be used

as additional seating in a lounge, a footstool or even a side table. All Woodbender furniture is available in 12 standard timber finishes and can be upholstered in a fabric of choice.

Go to VISI.co.za/win to enter this competition. The competition closes on 31 May 2020. woodbender.co.za

MORE AMAZING GIVEAWAYS IN THIS ISSUE… ■ Victoria Gin and a drinks trolley. R5 000 | page 30 ■ A one-night stay at Pineapple House (bed and breakfast, June–August 2020). R2 500 | page 184

VISI COMPETITION RULES

• These competitions close at midnight on 31 May 2020.

• The winner will be the first correct entry drawn after the closing date.

• If a selected winner cannot be reached at the contact details supplied, an alternative winner will be selected.

• The prize will be delivered to the winner, unless otherwise specified.

• The winner will be required to provide their ID number as per the new Consumer Protection Act guidelines.

• The winner is required to accept the prize as described in the magazine.

• • •

•

No correspondence will be entered into relating to the terms on which the prize is offered.

The winner will not be eligible for other prizes for six months after winning the competition.

The prize may not be transferred to another person or converted into cash.

VISI competitions are open to all South African residents. Employees of New Media and the prize-sponsoring companies, their family members, advertising and promotion agencies and any other parties associated with the competition may not enter.

Entrants must be 18 years or older.

• Neither New Media nor any of its partners can be held responsible for disputes in connection with prizes or for any loss, damage or injury that may be suffered or incurred by prize winners.

• Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules, and agree to be bound by them when entering VISI competitions.

• Data collected may be shared with the prize-sponsoring companies, but will not be sold or passed on to third parties.

• New Media reserves the right to cancel, modify or amend competitions at any time if deemed necessary.

• Visit VISI.co.za/terms-and-conditions.

WIN! Go to VISI.co.za/win to enter these competitions. Entries close on 31 May 2020.

062 |

visi.co.za

WOODBENDER PRIZE includes delivery, to be arranged by Woodbender.

w

oodbender has been crafting solid bentwood furniture for 32 years.

Known for durability and comfort, each of Woodbender’s individually hand-crafted pieces is made from solid ash timber that’s imported from sustainably managed forests.

Not For Persons Under The Age Of 18.

EFFICIENT & STYLISH HEATING SOLUTIONS WITH MINIMAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Visit www.infinitifires.co.za to view our extensive range

BRAAI & EXTRACTION SYSTEMS FOR THE HOME ENTERTAINER Visit www.braais-sa.co.za to view our extensive range

GEOMETRIC STEEL JUXTAPOSES ORGANIC DESERT ROCK IN THE STRIKING UPGRADE OF THIS LUXURY LODGE IN SOSSUSVLEI.

WORDS AMELIA BROWN PHOTOS DOOK

VISI

| &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

Architect Jack Alexander used the lodge’s east-west axis to orientate a linear reflection pond at the main guest area – as well as the individual pools at the suites – to reflect the rising and setting sun.

visi.co.za

| 067

VISI

| &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

takes a singular vision to renovate an existing property significantly yet sensitively – to make an original statement while retaining as much of the existing structure as possible.

To expand – yet maintain – the footprint while prioritising sustainability is especially challenging when the property happens to be located not just in Namibia’s remoteness, but in the world’s oldest desert. And when the brief is a total overhaul, as was the case with &Beyond’s Sossusvlei Desert Lodge – architecture, interiors and guest experience – it takes a team versed in the rigours of a certain type of multilayered hospitality that goes beyond quality linen. It requires a team that appreciates the tangible and intangible aspects of luxury; that knows how to offer guests an immersive experience.

After two decades at the helm of their award-winning multidisciplinary design agency Fox Browne Creative, Debra Fox and Chris Browne are specialists in this subtle alchemy. They collaborated with architect Jack Alexander, and worked with the existing buildings, constructed in the mid-1990s, to create something contemporary yet timeless and appropriate to the context.

The landscape was the steadfast focus in terms of inspiration, as well as minimising impact and maximising the guest experience. The lodge sits on a 12 715-hectare sprawl of desert wilderness that encompasses a variety of habitats and awe-inspiring vistas, from rocky mountains and gravel plains to vegetative, petrified and sandy dunes.

The team began by researching the area’s topography on Google Earth and were struck by how, unlike many other places in the world, there are no obstructions, trees, rocks or buildings. The only shadows are cast by dunes.

The lodge’s most defining feature – and a counterpoint to its burrow-like rock-wall curves – are the striking steel shades. “We tried to imitate nature in the architecture, and mirror the way in which the enormous dunes rise from the flat desert landscape,” Jack explains. The similarity is best illustrated at dawn and dusk, when the angular steel sails are in silhouette. “Much like life in the desert, I wanted the buildings to have different day- and night-time personalities,” he adds. At night, they’re illuminated from below by red light, chosen not for dramatic effect, but rather to avoid light pollution – the property borders the NamibRand Nature Reserve, Africa’s only International Dark Sky Reserve.

The night sky, so densely packed with stars here, was the reference for the laser-cut pattern in the shades.

Working with an astronomer and studying astrological charts from the area resulted in a two-dimensional celestial design. The shades made it possible to use floor-to-ceiling glass on three of the walls to maximise the magnificent views. They work throughout the day, providing a shield from the harsh sun and filtering light into the main area. In the evening, they prevent light from the lodge disrupting stargazing from the observatory.

When guests are not out exploring the magnificent surroundings, there is much to be seen at the lodge. You’d be forgiven for not leaving your OPPOSITE The prematurely room, with a pool positioned to reflect the sunrise and sunset, an ample, rusted steel of the shades references the vivid orange hues stylishly appointed lounge area, a butler hatch to deliver an early-morning of the sand at the nearby cappuccino, and a retractable skylight for in-bed stargazing.

Sossusvlei dunes. It would have “Solitude, silence and space are a rare commodity. This destination offers taken decades for those qualities in abundance,” says Debra. “We hope guests feel instantly at the steel to rust naturally, peace as they arrive, that time slows down for them, and that our design so pool acid was used to speed up the process. allows them to connect with the landscape and reconnect with themselves.” andbeyond.com

068 |

visi.co.za

VISI

| &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

THIS PAGE Chris Browne admits it was tempting to use warm dune tones for the interiors, but they opted for the darker, more muted end of the spectrum instead in reference to the stone and rocks. OPPOSITE Rock used in the walls, both existing and new, was harvested from a nearby quarry, helping the buildings blend into and coexist within the natural surroundings.

070 |

visi.co.za

THE LODGE’S MOST DEFINING FEATURE – AND A COUNTERPOINT TO ITS EXISTING BURROW-LIKE ROCKWALL CURVES – ARE THE STRIKING STEEL SHADES.

visi.co.za

| 071

The sitting room is divided into “summer” and “winter” spaces. The winter zone, with its fireplace and soft linen curtains, provides an escape from the harsh elements of the desert. The custom stained-glass tables emit a warm glow in the evenings; the hanging light is inspired by sociable weavers’ nests; and the standing lamp imitates desert tumbleweed.

THE DESIGN TEAM OPTED FOR DARKER, MORE MUTED TONES IN THE INTERIORS, IN REFERENCE TO THE STONE AND ROCKS OF THE AREA.

072 |

visi.co.za

VISI

| &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

ABOVE The star-studded night sky was the inspiration for the laser-cut pattern in the shades, which filter light and provide peepholes to the sky. In the absence of trees and vegetation, the shades also offer privacy for the new gym and spa, which were built on top of the existing main guest areas to avoid disturbing the site with new foundations. BELOW A layer of sophisticated environmental technology means each guest suite is almost completely self-powered. The new roofs – made from a composite, high-density insulation – were designed for optimal internal shading and to maximise the number of solar panels per room.

ABOVE Clean lines, natural textures, muted tones and pared-back simplicity ensure that the vast desertscape takes centre stage.

BELOW The layout of each guest suite and villa reflects a chic desert minimalism with a clear focus on guest comfort, while the floor-to-ceiling windows create a fully immersive experience.

VISI

| &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

ABOVE The shared sitting room in the Family Villa features handwoven woollen carpets, repurposed from the original lodge. Originally purchased from Karakulia Weavers in Swakopmund, their design is inspired by the cracked mud of the Deadvlei in the Sesriem Canyon.

BELOW The custom sandstone vanity and faucet were conceptualised by lead designer Ashley van der Walt. Inverted his-and-hers basins take their cue from the landscape. OPPOSITE The skylight above the bed allows for comfortable nighttime stargazing.

076 |

visi.co.za

“SOLITUDE, SILENCE AND SPACE ARE A RARE COMMODITY. THIS DESTINATION OFFERS THOSE QUALITIES IN ABUNDANCE.” DEBRA FOX

visi.co.za

| 077

VISI

| City Bowl Home

WORDS ROBYN ALEXANDER

PHOTOS GREG COX /BUREAUX

new THIS COVETABLE MID-CENTURY HOME IN CAPE TOWN HAS BEEN SENSITIVELY RENOVATED AND IS NOW THE CENTRE OF A FAMILY’S LIFE – AS WELL AS A UNIQUE SHOWCASE OF 20TH-CENTURY DESIGN.

OPPOSITE From the entrance hall, the main ground-floor living room is immediately visible through interior glass-and-metal doors, which replaced a masonry wall during the renovation, and were among the many interventions aimed at opening up and connecting the interior spaces.

078 |

visi.co.za

VISI

| City Bowl Home

ape Town-based magazine editor, stylist and interior designer Laureen Rossouw (below left) first saw this house five years ago. She and her husband Koos were about to move out of their City Bowl apartment when she spotted a picture of “a dilapidated house with classic Bauhaus lines” in the newspaper. “I thought it might be a bad picture or wishful thinking,” she says – but she made her way to the house, which was ideally located in the City Bowl suburb of Oranjezicht, on the edge of one of Cape Town’s most charming parks.

As soon as she laid eyes on the characterful, mid-20th-century building – which most definitely had Bauhaus “bones” – Laureen was smitten. “I phoned Koos to tell him I had found my dream house,” she says. “He loved it too, but when he saw how much work needed to be done, he couldn’t hide his disappointment.” It took a lot of persuasion to convince him, she adds – although not that much, it seems, since “at 3pm on the same day, we signed the offer”.

Laureen finishes her tale with a characteristic flourish: “We always buy everything within a few hours, and deal with the consequences later!”

The Rossouws had been living in the Cape Town CBD, in a flat in one of the city’s iconic Art Deco buildings that had been spectacularly renovated by Laureen some years before. In the new home, she says, “the lines were there; it was the layout that was impractical. It needed a thoughtful update to adapt it for 21st-century living.” And so began a lengthy process of planning and building work, conceived by Laureen in partnership with her daughter Renée Rossouw. Renée is an architect by training, and an acclaimed designer who, in 2019, was one of the young African creatives to collaborate on furniture giant Ikea’s Överallt collection.

As soon as you’re inside the house now, it’s impossible not to be captivated by its visual feast of classic 20th-century furniture, authentic design objects and special artworks. But what really makes Laureen’s painstakingly curated collection shine is the way it fits into the context of the reworked spaces. “The exterior had all the good elements of a mid-century-meets-Art Deco house, but the interior spaces were a bit of a mess,” Renée explains. “They didn’t have flow, or enough light; as a result, they were almost completely redone.”

The pair turned the garden- and park-facing kitchen into a breathtaking double-volume space, and added more glazing elsewhere too, including a large circular porthole in the dining area, as well as clerestory windows and interior glass-and-metal doors. “Creating new, bigger windows and bigger volumes that flow into nature was a big driving force,” says Renée, as the aim was to reconnect the house with its beautiful garden – also much worked on during the renovation, and now a lush masterpiece – and the greenery of the park landscape beyond it.

The overall result is that, in addition to having an abundance of natural light in its interiors, the house is an intriguing and visually pleasing exercise in geometry. It has become an illustration of the fact that geometric symmetry is not really about straight lines, but is rather an expression of the most pleasing combinations of shapes based on rectangles and circles, as well as the use of these elements in concert with one another.

While Cape Town may not have a singular architectural stamp, it does have a diverse range of styles – and an abundance of hidden gems. Following the renovation that has given it a new lease of life, this Bauhaus-brought-bang-upto-date home is now definitely one of them. reneerossouw.com

The large porthole window in the dining room was added during the renovation. The tabletop is by Architectural Glass Design (agd.co.za), while the brass table base by Alessandro Albrizzi as well as the wall sconces are from vintage furniture dealer Gawaine Monger Ziman. The Gaetano Sciolari chandelier was sourced from Rhys van Dijk; the dining chairs were upholstered in green velvet by The New Modernist (thenewmodernist.com); and the rugs are from Tirmah Interiors (tirmahinteriors.com).

visi.co.za

| 081

VISI

| City Bowl Home Steel-framed windows, custom-made by Jambmax (jambmax.co.za) for the double-volume space, result in what Laureen calls “a proper view of the height of the trees� outside. Custom floor tiles

by Moroccan Warehouse and dyed hides from Woodheads (woodheads. co.za) are complemented by a Hydrofire wood burner (hydrofire.co.za) and armchairs from Space for Life (spaceforlife.co.za).

An Alvar Aalto-style trolley from Ride a White Swan (instagram.com/ride_ a_white_swan) provides a finishing touch.

visi.co.za

| 083

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP In the main living room, the 1950s Paul Bode armchairs are upholstered in fabric from Romo Fabrics (romo.com), and the Liquorice tufted wool rug is by Renée Rossouw (reneerossouw.com); tree aloes stand out graphically against the white exterior of the house, and set off the terracotta klompie paving by Progressive Paving (progressivepaving.co.za); Laureen and Renée created the double-volume kitchen space – with areas for dining and lounging – by removing the bedroom that had occupied the first floor above it. OPPOSITE The tiled kitchen floor complements the original wall tiles, and open shelving allows Laureen to display a variety of kitchenware pieces collected over the years.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The mezzanine-level study area features a mix of vintage pieces and custom elements; in one of the bedrooms, a bed by Leon at CCXIX (leonat219.com) is covered with a Basotho blanket from Heartworks. The selection of artworks includes a Francois Roux painting (left) and Prime Minister by Anton Karstel (instagram.com/antonkarstel, top right); in the second bathroom, the placement of the Moroccan Warehouse tiles was custom-designed by Renée; the home’s central staircase features one of Renée’s murals. OPPOSITE The 1950s blue metal desk in the study is from The New Modernist (thenewmodernist.com), the yellow leather Basculant armchairs by Le Corbusier are from Onsite Gallery (onsitegallery.co.za), and the vintage globe is from Rhys van Dijk.

Laureen collected the classic posters – including the one commemorating the Munich 1972 Olympics – during her travels abroad.

VISI

| City Bowl

Home

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The marble in the main bathroom is from WOMAG (womag.co.za), while Still Bathrooms (stillbathrooms.co.za) supplied the sanitaryware, including the copper basin. The brass and Perspex wall sconces and chandelier are from The New Modernist (thenewmodernist.com), as is the pedestal close to the bath; the main vanity cabinet was designed by RenĂŠe, and the vanity mirror is from Onsite Gallery (onsitegallery.co.za); the Scandi beech-wood chair was found in a second-hand store, and the lotus cushion is by South African textile designer Jenny Gifford. OPPOSITE In the main bedroom, a linen throw in a magnolia print by Isobel Sippel (isobelsippel.com) takes pride of place. The planters in the living area beyond are from Liebermann Pottery (liebermannpottery.net).

VISI

| City Bowl Home

visi.co.za

| 089

VISI

| Waterberg Home

WITH A RARE VANTAGE POINT ON THE NATURAL WORLD, THIS DISTINCTIVE WATERBERG HOME’S DESIGN WAS DICTATED BY ITS SYLVAN SURROUNDS. WORDS MILA CREWE-BROWN PHOTOS DOOK PRODUCTION ANNEMARIE MEINTJES

Only House of the Tall Chimneys, where the bedroom is located, can be made out from above.

Even so, it’s disguised by a planted roof of indigenous grasses, which helps to naturally regulate the temperature within.

VISI

| Waterberg Home

IN A PRIVATE You’d struggle to see them among the dense foliage, even RESERVE from above. Two of those buildings – House of the Big Arch IN and House of the Tall Chimneys – constitute the home of a of veterinary scientists, a husband and wife whose THE pair for nature and the great outdoors drew them to this WATERBERG, passion wild corner of the country.

Owing to its location on a 5 000-hectare farm-turnedTHREE nature reserve, it’s not uncommon to see giraffe, leopard or HOURS genet, and an abundance of birds, from the paradise flycatcher NORTH to the yellow-bellied greenbul. It was during a ramble here the owners came across a sandstone promontory that OF that into the riverine forest below, and decided that this JOHANNESBURG, plunges very spot was to be their home.

A As if contending with a steep gradient in a forest in the of the bushveld wasn’t enough to challenge their SERIES middle their brief to him was “simply” to construct a tree OF architect, house, without removing a single tree from the site. The architect, who collaborates with a host of brilliant BUILDINGS young under the collective pseudonym Frankie Pappas, had CROUCHES minds the site Lidar-scanned to map the all-important trees. For CAMOUFLAGED the homeowners, the Frankie Pappas ethos of forgoing ego mutually for a greater purpose struck a chord.

IN andTheworking should suffer minimal interference, they agreed, A with thelandnotion that one day, having served its purpose, the FOREST. building will hopefully be swallowed up by the environment

altogether. By “connecting the back end of the building to the sandstone as though it were a boulder”, the architect explains, the cliff becomes part of the home’s narrative. The initial stock-brick structure – and others that follow in front of it – are linked by enclosed timber “bridges”, leaving the ground free for animals to make their passage underneath.

“You enter at the back of the home, at the cliff, and by the time you’ve reached the arch at the front end, you’re five metres up in the forest canopy,” the architect explains. Due to the limitations of finding a straight run between the trees, the main house (House of the Big Arch) is 3.3 metres wide and 22 metres at its full length. This long, skinny structure is wedged among trunks and branches, occasionally bulging out here or there to accommodate a dombeya or a monkey orange tree.

In an unconventional move, the bedroom is located some 50 metres away along a cliff path in the House of the Tall Chimneys. Here, bedroom and bathroom share an intimate connection with the trees.

Not only is the home completely off the grid, it also requires very little energy to run. It is positioned on a north-south axis, with its length facing east and west, and is designed to facilitate natural flows of cool air into and through the interior. Frankie Pappas also devised a series of chimneys that use an evaporative cooling system to further regulate frankiepappas.com the temperature.

The building’s language is neither contemporary nor old. The entrance is a narrow shaft that towers nine metres above ground, its arch emerging through the foliage; a dome is seen here, a column there.

It’s a meeting of basic forms that delights the eye – a man-made creation sculpted by the land.

092 |

visi.co.za

The entrance to House of the Big Arch is an unconventional, narrow, nine-metre-tall passage.

The height creates a highpressure system that pulls cool air into the kitchen.

The owners’ dog Mati can be found sleeping here on hot days.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The wall en route to the downstairs office is curved to accommodate a combretum tree; outside, under open skies and in the company of trees, is where the homeowners do most of their cooking; the subterranean cellar is ventilated by a cooling chimney that begins here and rises up through the office and kitchen above; the interior staircase was redesigned during construction to save two trees. OPPOSITE The deck, with the cooling chimney rising through it, is the foremost “bridge� that links the brick structures together. The architect designed the outdoor table using surplus saligna.

FRANKIE PAPPAS DEVISED A SERIES OF CHIMNEYS THAT USE AN EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEM TO REGULATE THE TEMPERATURE.

visi.co.za

| 095

VISI

| Waterberg Home

Bringing a natural warmth to the interior, much of the wood is saligna, which is both affordable and sustainable. The large dining table was commissioned by the homeowner’s father, and is about 60 years old.

visi.co.za

| 097

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Large windows envelop the bedroom in House of the Tall Chimneys, rendering the divide between indoors and outside imperceptible; Mati gets comfortable on the swing that hangs from the Big Arch; the main bathroom looks out into a courtyard garden planted on the sandstone cliff. OPPOSITE A cliff path through the forest leads to House of the Tall Chimneys. With a perceptible lack of curtains or blinds, the intention is to maximise the building’s connection to nature.

VISI

| Waterberg Home

THE BEDROOM IS LOCATED SOME 50 METRES AWAY ALONG A CLIFF PATH IN THE HOUSE OF THE TALL CHIMNEYS.

visi.co.za

| 099

M

O

N

O

L

VISI

| Bishopscourt Home

M

A MAGNIFICENT MULTILAYERED, MINIMALIST FAMILY HOME IN BISHOPSCOURT UNLIKE ANY OTHER.

A

S

t

E

R

I

t

H

I

C

From the start, architect Luis F Mira’s design inspiration for the project was the use of reflective elements in solid, transparent or fluid form, from mountain views to water and light.

WORDS LYNETTE BOTHA PHOTOS DOOK PRODUCTION ANNEMARIE MEINTJES

P

I

E

C

E

VISI

| Bishopscourt Home

YOU’D BE FORGIVEN FOR MISINTERPRETING THE AUSTERE FAÇADE OF the minute you set foot through the entrance into the voluminous heart of the home THIS FAMILY But – with uninterrupted views of the mountains ahead and natural light streaming in from RESIDENCE AS every angle through the floor-to-ceiling windows – it all makes complete sense.

COLD. Homeowner Angie Diggle’s brief to architect Luis F Mira saw her love of Georgian

architecture, and obsession with classicism and ratios woven into Luis’s minimalistic design approach and unwavering perfectionism. “The final considerations were to create a seamless flow from one space to another, ensure that the views were maximised from every room, and strip back everything,” explains Luis.

It was a serendipitous chain of events that led Angie and Luis to meet. Having purchased the sprawling Bishopscourt property with her husband, Martin, on somewhat of a whim, Angie immediately began the search for an architect to bring her vision to life. “I discovered Luis’s work in an international architectural magazine, and I realised instantly that he was perfect for the project,” says Angie. “I knew I needed to find him immediately.”

At the time, Angie was none the wiser that Luis, who hails from Chile, had opened a studio in Cape Town in 2009. The universe conspired, and then delivered. The result? A stripped-down, multilayered monolithic masterpiece in the middle of the suburbs – and a dynamic duo in Angie and Luis.

Before work began on the construction of the house, the property’s foundation had to be raised, “to create the feeling that the house is an extension of the mountain and vice versa”, explains Luis – a mammoth project in itself. “Martin and Angie also made the brave decision to move the house 12 degrees from its original north-facing position to be more west-facing. It was risky, due to the elements, but it definitely paid off.”

Another key member of Angie’s team was landscaper Danie Steenkamp of DDS Projects in Stellenbosch, acclaimed for his dynamic, eco-friendly aesthetic, who gave the garden an overhaul. “Danie implemented a perfectly African garden in Bishopscourt, which is just what I wanted,” says Angie. “We hand-picked every acacia with him, and waited patiently for the restio grass to grow in the farmlands before being replanted here.”

The capacious six-bedroom home certainly lives up to its owners’ desire for uninterrupted indoor-outdoor living. And, thanks to Luis, it has also been cleverly imagined to incorporate surprising elements such as the below-ground squash court, hammam and jacuzzi, guest suite, wine cellar and smartly concealed home office.

Every component – both outdoors and in – was meticulously considered by Angie herself, from the ancient limestone sourced in Dholpur in Rajasthan and the statement-making onyx slab that forms the backsplash of the master shower, to each copper-plated handle and hinge found throughout the home.

The impressive collection of art got similar attention, and includes a Nelson Makamo triptych and a Peter Eaton Gurnz Perspex installation, all adding definitive points of interest that complete the otherwise bare interiors.

“The ultimate goal was to create a beautiful backdrop for everyday life, almost imitating a photographic studio. Everything is open; everything flows seamlessly and provides no room to hide,” Angie clarifies. “The action within these spaces becomes the most important.There is no interruption to what is ultimately life’s action: family, friends, pets and nature, living and BELOW LEFT A panoramic view of the multilayered home, loving harmoniously.”

dreamed up by the homeowners and brought to life by architect Luis F Mira and landscaper Danie Steenkamp of DDS Projects.

OPPOSITE The capacious reception area links directly to the great outdoors.

mira-architects.com

“THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP FOR EVERYDAY LIFE, ALMOST IMITATING A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO.” ANGIE DIGGLE, OWNER

visi.co.za

| 103

VISI

104 |

visi.co.za

| Bishopscourt Home

THIS PAGE Copper-plated fixtures and accents are found throughout the home, including in the open-plan kitchen. THIS OPPOSITE PAGE Every element within is meticulously balanced, including the staircases that mirror each other.

visi.co.za

| 105

THIS PAGE A Perspex photo installation by Los Angeles artist Peter Eaton Gurnz adds interest to the otherwise minimalist interior.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A bespoke hue created by owner Angie Diggle and mixed by Paintsmiths in Wynberg has been used on walls throughout the home to unite the space; the owners’ enviable collection of artworks is dotted throughout the house; clean lines and mirrored spaces are in perfect balance; the stairways are one of Angie’s favourite features.

THE HOUSE HAS BEEN CLEVERLY IMAGINED TO INCORPORATE SURPRISING ELEMENTS, LIKE THE BELOW-GROUND SQUASH COURT, HAMMAM AND JACUZZI.

VISI

| Bishopscourt Home

visi.co.za

| 107

“THE FINAL CONSIDERATIONS WERE TO CREATE A SEAMLESS FLOW FROM ONE SPACE TO ANOTHER, ENSURE THAT THE VIEWS WERE MAXIMISED FROM EVERY ROOM, AND STRIP BACK EVERYTHING.” LUIS F MIRA, ARCHITECT

108 |

visi.co.za

THIS PAGE All areas are open and free-flowing. As Angie says, “There is nowhere to hide.”

OPPOSITE, FROM TOP The 16-seater table and chairs were imported from the US, and are the setting for languid lunches with family and friends; water is a prominent feature, from the outside channels fringing the front of the home to this picturesque pond.

VISI

| Bishopscourt Home

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP A minimalist’s dream: everything in this bedroom is cleverly concealed to not detract from the perfectly framed view; table lamps from Restoration Hardware in the US sit atop a Graydon Shagreen Collection bureau (also from Restoration Hardware in the US), flanking framed birthgowns of the owner’s four children; hand-blown glass pendant lights with copper-plated fittings take pride of place above the unique concrete sink in the guest bathroom. OPPOSITE The onyx slab forms the backsplash in the master shower, and makes a bold statement against the muted backdrop.

VISI

| Bishopscourt Home

EVERY COMPONENT – BOTH OUTDOORS AND IN – WAS METICULOUSLY CONSIDERED.

visi.co.za

| 111

VISI

| Timbavati Lodge

WORDS BIDDI RORKE

PHOTOS DOOK

T

R

E

E

’

S

C

O

M

P

A

A ROMANTIC, OFF-THE-GRID PLATFORM HOUSE OFFERS THE ULTIMATE BUSH ADVENTURE – A LUXURIOUS YET EXPOSED NIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS.

112 |

visi.co.za

N

Y

visi.co.za

| 113

VISI

| Timbavati Lodge

OPPOSITE The four-storey tree house provides uninterrupted views across the Timbavati riverine forest canopy and the Kruger National Park towards the Lowveld escarpment.

PREVIOUS PAGE The latte form a series of web-like layers over the entire structure, and function as a balustrade for the five staircases that wind around the tree house.

t’s a new way to experience the drama and majesty of the bushveld: enclosed by enormous marula trees in the Timbavati private concession in the Kruger National Park, a night in the &Beyond Ngala Tree House is designed to tickle the senses. As architect Jack Alexander for Fox Browne Creative explains,“We wanted the structure to have a light footprint, with as little impact on the natural landscape and local wildlife as possible.”

The result is a unique hideaway consisting of five vertically linked platforms, wrapped in an Escher-like series of staircases and landings that connect to a prefabricated 12-metre-tall steel core frame.

Hardwood timber shiplap cladding inside and out counters the “urban” feel of the glass and steel, and lends the tree house a natural, more handcrafted feel.“We also clad the structure in a series of timber latte which, like the mopani poles of the ‘boma’ fence around the whole structure, were responsibly harvested from the surrounding area,” says Jack.

The pattern for the latte is not dissimilar from that of branches that have fallen naturally to the forest floor over time. They form a series of web-like layers over the entire structure, which have the additional important function of working as a balustrade for the five staircases that wind their way around the tree house.

This low-impact, high-drama wilderness retreat features a choice of two sleeping areas: an enclosed bedroom with a king-sized bed, mosquito net and bathroom on the third level, or an elevated sleep-out platform set beneath a retractable awning on the roof.

Stepping up from the shade of the trees, guests climb 52 steps up through the leafy canopy to reach the rooftop – and breathtaking views of the Ngala Private Game Reserve. “Reminiscent of the effect of climbing a tree as a child, the density of these ‘branches’ decreases as you ascend level by level - so as you climb the stairs, the views become more open, and the experience of being in touch (almost literally) with your natural surroundings intensifies, until it reaches a crescendo at the very top,” says Jack. “The tree house puts guests quite literally within touching distance of the spectacular diversity of wildlife that moves through the surrounding wilderness, including white lion, wild dog, elephant and buffalo herds, leopard and white rhino.”

“At less than 25 square metres, each level offers a different aspect of the sleep-out experience,” adds Fox Browne Creative co-owner Chris Browne, who directed the interiors. “The ground floor comprises a personal bar and kitchenette, and there’s a ‘loo with a view’ at mezzanine level. One level up sees an indoor/outdoor shower and vanity, while the third floor houses a fully glazed bedroom (with a pull-out bed for kids).”

The uppermost rooftop viewing deck is the hero of the experience, and includes an embroidered daybed that easily converts into a bed for sleeping under the stars in maximum safety and comfort. If rain and thunder threaten, guests can retreat to the weatherproof lower level and a king-sized bed enclosed with a permanent mosquito net.

The interiors are intentionally pared down so as not to complicate the simplicity and serenity of this natural location. And, as is to be expected, the entire structure is self-sustained with off-grid technologies, including its own solar power supply, greywater collection system and “bio-rock” sanitation system. Best of all, once you’ve climbed all the way up, you’ll find snacks, drinks and a celebratory bottle of Champagne waiting for you in the custom dumbwaiter that is hoisted up to the rooftop.

STEPPING UP FROM THE SHADE OF THE TREES, GUESTS CLIMB 52 STEPS UP THROUGH THE LEAFY CANOPY TO REACH THE ROOFTOP.

114 |

visi.co.za

foxbrowne.com | andbeyond.com

ABOVE The lower level of Ngala Tree House features a compact galley kitchen, stocked with all the provisions guests might need during a sleep-out adventure. BELOW Winding up the stairs, the rope balustrade guides guests to the mezzanine level – and the loo with a view.

VISI

| Timbavati Lodge

ABOVE The daybed on the sleep-out viewing deck is covered in fabric embroidered with the 10 distinctive birds of the region.

The original illustrations were done by Duncan Butchart. BELOW Shielded only by the basket weave of latte, the bathroom truly connects guests to nature. The raw-edge, organic vanity is complemented by rich copper fixtures and accessories.

ABOVE “We created a romantic sanctuary for two,” says Chris. “Enclosed by a mosquito net, the king-sized bed features crisp, 100%-cotton sheets, and a hand-embroidered Mungo throw by Kaross Weavers. It creates a sense of luxury with only the things you need – nothing more, nothing less.” BELOW The copper basin in the private loo with a view is wall-mounted, and matches the other fixtures in the tree house. OPPOSITE An overnight romantic adventure lets guests take in the dramatic night skies and wild sights and sounds of the Lowveld in comfort and luxury.

VISI

| Timbavati Lodge

THERE’S A CHOICE OF TWO SLEEPING AREAS: AN ENCLOSED AND WEATHERPROOF BEDROOM OR AN ELEVATED SLEEP-OUT PLATFORM.

visi.co.za

| 119

VISI

V

| Pretoria Home

E

L

D

WITH FLOWING LINES AND MONOCHROME HUES, THIS GENEROUS PRETORIA FAMILY HOME LETS THE OUTDOORS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AS IT THREADS ITS ROOTS DEEP

INTO THE HEART OF A MOUNTAIN.

M

E

L

WORDS ADÉLE DE LANGE PHOTOS DOOK PRODUCTION ANNEMARIE MEINTJES

D

THIS PAGE The concrete cantilever

by KTT Projects allows the overhead roof garden to float over the outdoor terrace below. The chairs and bench are from Weylandts, and the kiaat table was made by a local carpenter.

OPPOSITE Curated by EarthArt Landscaping, indigenous Aristida junciformis veld grass thrives on the roof terraces.

visi.co.za

| 121

VISI

| Pretoria Home

Our journey on this project started with a phone call, which turned into a fascinating conversation,” says architect Greté van As of meeting the owners of this striking home for the first time. Having distilled their passion for balance between nature, people and architecture into an award-winning signature style, architectural duo Johan Wentzel and Greté van As of W Design Architecture Studio were, she says, thrilled at the opportunity to design a new residence for a like-minded family on one of the last pieces of pristine bushveld in Pretoria.

Blessed with spectacular views towards the north, and with the magnificent Bronberg Mountain as a backdrop, the architects were inspired to design a home that would merge unobtrusively into this very unique landscape.“We challenged ourselves to leave behind the smallest of footprints while introducing built structures into the sensitive surroundings,” Johan says.

Fortunately, a portion of the indigenous brush had already been disturbed at the base of the mountain,which became the perfect spot for further man-made meddling.

The entire house was designed as a series of terraces originating from this base, climbing gradually up the mountain to make the most of the views. “Despite the rather large accommodation brief, we wanted to create intimate spaces – each with its own unique sense of identity, and each retaining its own direct connection to the mountain and the views,” says Johan.

Viewed from the top, the house again becomes one with nature as each indoor space flows seamlessly into the outdoors. Surrounded by nature on all sides, it comes complete with an indigenous roof garden to reclaim the natural landscape when viewed from above. “This is one of the things I love most about the house – the bottom levels disappear completely from view as they become a part of the landscape again,” says Johan.

Despite being hidden from view, the pavilions are all interconnected internally through a series of discreetly placed staircases and glazed sliding doors, allowing nature to weave and flow continuously through each space from one tier to the next.

Throughout the construction process, the owners made it clear that the existing fauna and flora would come first, and moved not a single tree from its original location. Carrying this theme into the interior of the house, the detailing and finishes were kept clean-cut and minimalist. Monochrome hues and natural materials further define the interior style.

“With nature being the artwork here, we styled the house to complement it, rather than compete with it,” Greté explains.“Even the furniture is entirely arranged towards the views.”

Regardless of the simplicity of the design, there’s a tangible sense of drama that compels the eye to look again. From the bedrooms, tufts of grass wave unassumingly over an impossibly clear drop of blue skyline; in the kitchen, the mountain seems on the verge of jumping through the window; and in the living room, the concrete roof garden defies gravity by floating on little more than thin air.

With its sensitive approach towards nature and its sophisticated simplicity, this house deservedly received a Pretoria Institute for Architecture award in 2019. wdas.co.za

OPPOSITE The contours and exposed rock faces of the mountain were used to create a series of terraces, enabling all parts of the house to have equal access to the views and the surrounding outdoors.

122 |

visi.co.za

THE ARCHITECTS WERE INSPIRED TO DESIGN A HOME THAT WOULD MERGE UNOBTRUSIVELY INTO THIS VERY UNIQUE LANDSCAPE.

visi.co.za

| 123

VISI

| Pretoria Home

MONOCHROME HUES AND NATURAL MATERIALS DEFINE THE HOME’S INTERIOR STYLE.

124 |

visi.co.za

THIS PAGE & OPPOSITE The detailing and finishes were kept clean-cut and minimalist, with nature captured as a piece of art through the window frame. In the kitchen, the sharp geometry of the natural limestone counter marks a vivid contrast to the rich ochre tones of the rocky mountainside.

visi.co.za

| 125

ABOVE Floating lightly over the indigenous vegetation, all bedrooms have private timber decks stepping into the rocky mountainside. The Lara occasional deck chairs are from Weylandts (weylandts.co.za).

RIGHT The lower-level living areas are linked with the natural mountain landscape through an intermediate courtyard, where a tranquil koi pond creates a moment for reflection.

OPPOSITE, FROM TOP Bird-watching made easy while soaking in the comfort of the OXO cube bath (oxosa,co.za); celebrating the raw beauty of wood in its pristine form, even the parquet floors and furniture were left in their natural state. The bed and pedestals are from Weylandts.

THE HOUSE DESERVEDLY RECEIVED A PRETORIA INSTITUTE FOR ARCHITECTURE AWARD IN 2019.

128 |

visi.co.za

VISI

| Pretoria Home

Spacious and inviting, the open-plan living, dining and kitchen space spills over onto the lawn terrace with its spectacular sunset views. “This is the heart of this home,” Greté says. “There’s a special energy to this space that continues to draw everyone in.”

visi.co.za

| 129

MAX UP

WITH PANORAMIC VIEWS OF TABLE MOUNTAIN, THIS NEWLY

WORDS ANNETTE KLINGER PHOTOS PARIS BRUMMER

PRODUCTION ANNEMARIE MEINTJES

VISI

| Tamboerskloof Home

BUILT HOME RECONCILES HIGH DESIGN WITH FAMILY LIVING – AND HAS FUN DOING IT.

Situated at the top of a steep street, the city view from the house – designed

by Wynand Wilsenach Architects – is unparalleled.

visi.co.za

| 131

VISI

| Tamboerskloof Home

“BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS SO OPEN-PLAN, WE DIDN’T WANT A KITCHEN THAT LOOKED LIKE A KITCHEN.“

itting proudly at the top of one of the most gear-crunchingly steep streets in Cape Town, this family home is imbued with a unique combination of ebullience and lived-in-ness. It’s a blend created by the artistic eye and deft hand of its owner. “When my husband and I approached Wynand Wilsenach Architects to build the house,” Paula says, “we had a few nonnegotiables, like a large front and back lawn for our children, and enough open spaces inside the house for them to run around. Most of all, we wanted it to be a place we could call our forever home.”

Paula isn’t kidding about the last part. Step out of the rambling lounge-kitchen area onto an airy patio overlooking the city, and one wall is covered with an illustrated tiled mural depicting the family tree, created by Cape Town artist Michael Chandler. “He made a note of all the plants growing against the part of Table Mountain that’s behind the house and included them in the work, along with elements that were significant to our family. We’ll never leave this house, because we can’t leave behind our family tree,” she says.

Chandler’s is just one of seemingly innumerable artworks adorning the interior, which Paula designed in collaboration with Liesel Rossouw of Ginger Lee Interiors. The aesthetic axis around which the kitchen – and the entire open-plan living area – operates is one of Caryn Scrimgeour’s bold table-setting still lifes, in a happy pink. “It was Liesel’s idea,” says Paula. “She said, ‘Who says you can’t put a painting in a kitchen?’ Because everything is so open-plan, we didn’t want a kitchen that looked like a kitchen.”

Also contributing to the “non-kitcheny” aesthetic is the unconventional floor of glazed green tiles arranged in a herringbone pattern, custom-made by Gerrit Oosthuizen of Southern Art Ceramics, and the steel kitchen island designed by Wynand, which adds an industrial edge to the space, along with the brass-and-wood drinks cabinet that Liesel and her husband Sias, a carpenter, designed.

While there is evidence of four 10-and-under kids to be found all over the house, their official den is the playroom downstairs. Another specially commissioned mural – this one by Lucie de Moyencourt – takes up the whole of one wall, depicting Table Mountain centre stage and featuring the eldest three kids peeking from behind a curtain on the right. “We still have to ask Lucie to draw in our 10-month-old!” says Paula.

The top floor houses the family’s five en-suite bedrooms, each with their own unique personality – and enviable art collection.

Ten-year-old Christo’s bedroom, for example, has a surfer theme, boasting a custom-built steel platform bed with a hammock suspended underneath; nine-year-old Sophia’s room is punctuated with pink flamingos; and five-year-old Johan’s space is all about dinosaurs and bugs, and culminates in an elaborate mosaic mural

by Lovell Friedman in its en-suite bathroom.

These are the rooms of kids whose mom gets them – just like she understands the fact that, sometimes, they’d rather explore her black-and-white chandelier-appointed study, or the luxuriously appointed guest room with its antique haberdashery cabinet, when she’s not looking. You can’t blame them: in this house, there is wonderment to be found at every turn.

The outside shower’s tiles were inspired by a design Paula spotted in a feature about Lisbon’s subway tiles, and created by Southern Art Ceramics’ Gerrit Oosthuizen.

w2.co.za

The airy open-plan space that incorporates the lounge, dining room and kitchen has a quirky, colourful cosiness, thanks to Paula’s deft interior design hand.

visi.co.za

| 133

VISI

134 |

visi.co.za

| Tamboerskloof Home

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A sculpture by Haidee Nel and painting by Colbert Mashile welcome you to the study; Paula’s study stars her favourite things, including a painting by Kirsten Sims, a couch upholstered in fabric by Ardmore and a crystal chandelier from the family’s previous home; the family tree, as illustrated by Michael Chandler, overlooks the patio. OPPOSITE A steel island, designed by architect Wynand Wilsenach, and one of Caryn Scrimgeour’s still lifes set the tone for the decidedly un-kitcheny kitchen.

visi.co.za

| 135

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Five-year-old Johan’s bedroom has a bug and dino theme, including whimsical bedding by Call Me Ishmael; Johan’s bathroom mural by Lovell Friedman continues the bug motif; a light-blue metal cupboard by Dokter and Misses adds to the surf locker-room vibe of Christo’s room; the chicken coop housing the family’s chooks was designed by Marielle Ferreira and Sarchen Bassingthwaighte. OPPOSITE The platform bed in Christo’s room was made by Liesel Rossouw and her husband Sias, and the yellow cupboard below was made in collaboration with Paula.

VISI

| Tamboerskloof Home

THE TOP FLOOR HOUSES THE FAMILY’S FIVE EN-SUITE BEDROOMS, EACH WITH ITS OWN PERSONALITY.

visi.co.za

| 137

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Walls in a dramatic shade of plum and luxury fabrics by Ardmore create an opulent feel in the main bedroom; a print of Grant Wood’s American Gothic adds humour to the guest room’s doorless cupboard; the guest bathroom is appointed in wallpaper by Cara Saven and tiles from Lime Green Sourcing Solutions. OPPOSITE The guest bedroom’s antique haberdashery cabinet competes for attention with an artwork by Stephen Allwright.

VISI

| Tamboerskloof Home

visi.co.za

| 139

V I S I

/

RTNER CONTENT

SOUL OF

INSIGHTS into Mazda’s unique approach to design

V I S I

/

The Beauty of Motion

Over the years, Mazda has developed a distinct design identity that appeals to customers around the world, yet is deeply bound to Japanese idea of aesthetics.

icture in your mind’s eye a box: not just any box, but a luxurious, handcrafted Japanese lunch box. As your eyes wander across the exterior, you notice the perfect symmetry of form; the way each piece of wood seamlessly fits into the next; the way the light dances across the perfectly polished, blacklacquered surface; and the delicate pattern of a willow tree that is painted on the surface, branches shaking, leaves falling, a living form in motion. The painted tree is in perfect harmony with the wood on which it is painted.

P

As you finally open the box’s lid, a meticulously arranged, lush scenery of delicious bites hits your hungry eyes.

Do you see it? Then you are experiencing first-hand the essence of Japanese design.

This seemingly everyday item exemplifies much about Japanese aesthetics and product design – principles that have also always governed the way Mazda approaches car design. From its very first mass-production car – the R360 Coupe – Japanese ideas of beauty and art have been deeply embedded in the Mazda design philosophy.

OPPOSITE Soul of Motion, a perfume developed for Mazda by Shiseido, was created by the beauty house as a work of art, and aimed to represent the Kodo design theme. It was the recipient of the gold award in the packaging category at Germany’s iF Design Awards in 2017.

142 |

visi.co.za

CALLED SOUL OF MOTION, THE PERFUME WAS DEVELOPED BY COSMETICS COMPANY SHISEIDO TO SYMBOLISE THE CARMAKER’S KODO DESIGN PHILOSOPHY.

visi.co.za

| 143

V I S I

/

IN TUNE WITH NATURE The deep bond with the natural world is a central element of Japanese aesthetics. It permeates everything from art to people’s everyday life and preferences. Whether it’s an emphasis on openness in traditional Japanese architecture – which relies on moving walls in order to frame the scenery outside – or the yearly spectacle of the cherry blossom with its myriad manifestations in art, the natural world is never far off when it comes to Japanese ideas of beauty.

While artificiality and a certain removal from the mundane often characterise Western avant-garde movements, the roots of Japanese design are irrevocably entangled with the land itself.

SOUL OF MOTION At Mazda, this idea was brought to life powerfully in the Kodo design language, first introduced as a design vision in the 2010 Mazda Shinari concept car. Mazda’s global head of design Ikuo Maeda had a clear goal in mind: to capture the very essence of movement and emotion in a car’s exterior.

The design team worked tirelessly to shave off any and all elements that were deemed not absolutely necessary.

The result was a clear and pure form that evokes the energy of a living, moving creature – the soul of motion itself.

The second decade of Kodo design focused on broadening the expression of the essence of Japanese aesthetics with three elements: yohaku, literally meaning the beauty of empty space; sori, or curves with poise and balance; and utsuroi, the play of light and shade.

According to celebrated Japanese author Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, the use of light and shadows is central to understanding Japanese aesthetics. They are nature’s own artists, creating forms and aspects that are everchanging and fluid. Light and shadow are what makes the noh masks in traditional Japanese theatre come alive, and what gives a room its mood – and they also breathe life into all Mazda cars that follow the Kodo design concept.

All strong lines are removed from the side surfaces of the car, creating an empty space that functions as a blank canvas for the light to paint on. One striking example of this

ABOVE The Bike by Kodo concept seeks to express the innate beauty of the bicycle. Its minimalist structure is composed of the least possible number of parts. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Mazda’s RX-Vision concept harbours the soul of the Mazda brand; the Table by Kodo features a wooden base shaped to symbolise wings, and a plate-glass top; the Mazda Kodoki is a wine cooler designed by Gyokusendo, a studio that’s been producing traditional tsuiki copperware for more than two centuries; the Sofa by Kodo evokes the strong, planted stance common to Mazda cars.

144 |

visi.co.za

IN JAPAN, A CLEAR DELINEATION BETWEEN ART AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS DOES NOT EXIST.

visi.co.za

| 145

V I S I

/

concept is the S-shaped curve found on the Mazda CX-30 side panels. As the car moves through its surroundings, the constantly changing light creates fluid patterns that reinforce the idea of motion suggested by the overall shape.

The result is a continuously evolving aesthetic that marries minimalism of form with a wealth of expression – a true manifestation of Japanese aesthetics.

It was this evolved Kodo design philosophy that put Mazda on the map as a design force to be reckoned with.

Both the Mazda RX-Vision and the Vision Coupe were deemed the “Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year” in 2015 and 2017 respectively, receiving almost universal praise. And starting with the latest-generation Mazda3, an evolved interpretation of Kodo design has found its way into production cars.

THE BEAUTY IN THE EVERYDAY In Japan, a clear delineation between art and commercial products does not exist. Why should we put less effort into beautifying the things we interact with daily than we do into a piece that’s displayed in a museum? With this philosophy in mind, it is hardly surprising that Japanese product design is celebrated across the world.

A lunch box, looked at soberly, is just that: a container used to transport food. But to many Japanese, it is also

an opportunity to create an object of beauty – both in the box itself and in the treasures it holds.

When a guest is presented with such a lunch box, he or she is encouraged to dwell for a while on the beauty of the object at hand, to trace with their eyes the path of the swinging willow branches. The beauty of the box is part of the overall experience, as is the artistic presentation of the edible contents within. Before ever tasting a morsel of food, the recipient of the lunch has thus enjoyed the lunch-box experience in a number of ways.

And this is only a prelude to the pleasure of savouring the exquisite flavours of the meal. Presentation alone is not enough – but it does make a valuable contribution to the overall experience.

This is exactly how Mazda designers and fans feel about their cars . At the heart of every Mazda is the joy of driving it, and the feeling of unity between car and driver. This state is called jinba ittai, and there are many factors that go into achieving this perfect harmony, from the way an engine behaves to the vehicle’s steady grip on the road and a seat that perfectly supports the driver’s body.

A stirring design might not be the only – or even the central – element of any car. But to the overall experience of driving a Mazda, it is not trivial, either.

MAZDA’S TAKUMI In Japan, you’re not considered a master of your craft until you’ve spent 60 000 hours refining your skills. It’s these combined skills of Japanese artisans – the Takumi – that Mazda employs to produce the final design sketch of a new vehicle. The collaboration of a range of viewpoints and experiences is then distilled into the final design sketch – and it’s here that Mazda’s clay modellers take over. These master craftsmen interpret a single sketch into 3D form, often bringing out beauty in a way the designer had not intended – they not only follow the intentions of the designer, but also give form to the essential philosophy behind the sketch and the design.

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE The philosophy of co-creation is what brings Kodo design to life, taking a sketch (above) to a sculptural concept of movement (opposite top) and eventually the finished product – such as the RX-Vision and the Vision Coupe concepts (opposite bottom), deemed the Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

146 |

visi.co.za

THE NATURAL WORLD IS NEVER FAR OFF WHEN IT COMES TO JAPANESE IDEAS OF BEAUTY.

visi.co.za

| 147

V I S I

/

100 Years of Mazda

From Hiroshima cork producer to innovative global carmaker, Mazda has spent a century forging a new path in automotive design and engineering.

2020

marks a very special occasion for Mazda: it is the year the company becomes a shinise. In Japan, this term is reserved for companies with an exceptionally long history and proud tradition. On 30 January, Mazda celebrated its 100th anniversary – and we celebrate the brand’s milestone by highlighting some of its iconic models and taking a peek at the future.

R360 COUPE 1960-1969 Engine V-twin Displacement 356cm³ Power 12kW Top speed 85-90km/h Weight From 380kg Production numbers 65 737 units

COSMO SPORT 1967–1972 Engine Two-rotor rotary Displacement 491cm³ per chamber Power 81–94kW Top speed 185–200km/h Weight From 940kg Production numbers 1 176 units

LUCE R130 COUPE 1969–1971 Engine Two-rotor rotary Displacement 655cm³ per chamber Power 93kW Top speed 190km/h Weight From 1 185kg Production numbers 976 units

148 |

visi.co.za

RX-4 COUPE 1972–1978 Engine Two-rotor rotary Displacement 654cm³ per chamber Power 85-97kW Top speed 190km/h Weight from 1 010kg Production numbers 252 285 units (including sedan and station wagon)

RX-7 (1st generation) 1978–1985 Engine Two-rotor rotary Displacement 573cm³ per chamber Power 121kW Top speed 217km/h Weight From 1 005kg Production numbers 471 018 units

MX-5 (1st generation) 1989-1997 Engine Inline four Displacement 1 598cm³ Power 86kW Top speed 188km/h Weight 970kg Production numbers 431 544 units

RX-7 (3rd generation) 1991–2003 Engine Twin turbo, two-rotor rotary Displacement 654cm3 per chamber Power 206kW Top speed 250km/h Weight From 1 240kg Production numbers 68 589 units

visi.co.za

| 149

V I S I

/

Next-Generation Design

The Vision Coupe carries Mazda’s “Kodo: Soul of Motion” design philosophy into the future.

150 |

visi.co.za

The Mazda Vision Coupe embodies the elegant, refined atmosphere that is the target of next-generation Mazda design.

Within the flowing four-door coupe configuration, the strikingly beautiful silhouette gives stirring visual expression to the vehicle’s high performance, while the sculpted athletic form is free of all unnecessary elements – a key factor in Mazda’s minimalist design approach. Since its unveiling in Tokyo in 2017, the Vision Coupe has won several design awards, including Concept Car of the Year at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, and Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year at the 33rd Festival Automobile International.

JAPANESE AESTHETICS CALL FOR A DELICATE SENSE OF BALANCE RATHER THAN A SHOW OF OSTENTATION.

visi.co.za

| 151

V I S I

/

Less Is More

What makes a design truly great? Mazda’s head of design Ikuo Maeda talks about Japanese aesthetics, cars as art, and the road ahead for the brand.

A

ny discussion about Mazda design must sooner or later lead to one person: Ikuo Maeda. Few people have shaped Mazda’s more recent design evolution quite as much as the “father” of Kodo design. When he became Mazda’s global head of design in 2009, with more than 20 years of Mazda experience under his belt, he took the brand in a bold new direction while simultaneously reconnecting it with its Japanese roots.

What does design mean to you?

For me, it is about creating a beautiful shape that moves the hearts and enriches the minds of those who see it.

Good examples of this are Japanese dashi (soup stock), multiple-layer Japanese lacquer craftwork, and the traditional procedure followed in Japanese tea ceremonies.

What is your definition of good design?

I see good design as something that is refined down to minute details to offer a beautiful, emotional shape while perfectly embodying its creator’s inspiration and message.

Today, Mazda has an acclaimed design throughout its entire line-up. You follow a “car as art” concept – can you explain your method to achieve this?

We have an annual process of creating art pieces in house, where each member can choose to work on any assignment of their liking. Known as “exploratory preparation”, it can be done alone, in collaboration with other artisans of Japanese traditional crafts, or in collaboration with a non-automotive design team. There are no restrictions as to what method is used to create an art piece. I believe that mingling with different artists and being exposed to a variety of ideas may spark a sort of chemical reaction, which can give us ideas for new design shapes.

We also spend a generous amount of time carefully translating these ideas into something we can use for car design. I believe that a design’s success or failure is already decided before any work on the actual product design begins.

What is your wish for the future of car design in general, and Mazda in particular?

Today the automotive industry is standing at a major crossroads. Car values are changing, and so are car designs. In the midst of such transformation, I do not want to witness the beauty of cars and the golden rule cultivated through cars’ long history being lost along the way. I want us to be a member of a group that aspires to support the advancement of car design culture through innovation, in a way that complies with the aesthetics standard.

A modern Mazda car looks quite different from its predecessors. What do you see as a mark of continuity in Mazda design through the years?

Putting significant effort into creating form, and our special way of creating designs by hand.

What makes a design a Japanese design?

Less is more. First and foremost, Japanese design must be simple and pure. Then, it must provide a feeling of depth within its simplicity. Making such a design requires meticulous calculation and preparation, followed by extensive time spent on refinement and polishing to finally create the ultimate shape. Japanese aesthetics has a way of offering depth and richness through processes that take a great amount of time and tend not to be directly visible at first sight.

152 |

visi.co.za

Tell us how you plan to evolve Kodo design in the future.

The theme of Kodo design is to breathe life into forms. Grounded in this theme, we are taking on the challenge of portraying Japanese aesthetics in physical designs, and bridging the gap between universal and advanced designs while aiming to establish a new style of expression that represents Japan.

What are your favourite designs outside of the automotive world?

Architectural masterpieces that were built over years and years of construction work. Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece in Barcelona, the Sagrada Família, is one example.

“A DESIGN’S SUCCESS OR FAILURE IS ALREADY DECIDED BEFORE ANY WORK ON THE ACTUAL PRODUCT DESIGN BEGINS.”

visi.co.za

| 153

V I S I

/

Soul Red Crystal

Not all reds are created equal. Learn about the unique process of developing Mazda’s signature colour.

rom the 1960 R360 Coupe – a micro car that Mazda sold in Japan, and its first passenger car – to its current line-up, the brand has had a long history with the colour red. Deeply rooted in Japanese culture, red denotes strength and passion, and is used to depict the sun on the national flag. Believing that paint colour is one of the key elements of form, Mazda was determined to create the world’s most beautiful red when it began the development of the new Soul Red Crystal.

Creating Soul Red Crystal was a challenging process that required Mazda to reinvent the way cars are painted.

With any beautiful object, the way the light dances across its surface forms part of its beauty. The interplay of light

F

and form inspired Mazda to create a paint with exceptional depth and reflective quality.

To ensure visual perfection, the colour designer and master painter worked together to translate the designer’s colour choices perfectly onto cars. But to achieve a deep, lustrous finish, cars needed to be painted by hand. While this was possible in the case of Mazda’s concept cars, a new technique had to be developed in order to get the same quality of Soul Red Crystal on production models. Through a process called takuminuri, which translates to “artisan colouring”, painting robots were effectively taught to duplicate the techniques of Mazda’s best craftsmen.

MASTER CRAFTSMEN Takuminuri is a Mazda-exclusive approach to advanced paint technology. It began with the original Soul Red Metallic paint colour in 2012, was perfected with Machine Gray in 2016, and was further refined into a colour that uses the learnings from both to stand among the most gorgeous hues available today.

Mazda’s “Kodo: Soul of Motion” design philosophy gives every one of its cars a proper canvas, with a sensual, dynamic shape that captures the instant in which energy becomes motion. Everywhere you look, this poise is enhanced by premium details. Subtle, flowing body lines that show off the curves’ nuances as well as the powerful stance are further emphasised as light reflects off the Soul Red Crystal paint.

154 |

visi.co.za

THE INTERPLAY OF LIGHT AND FORM INSPIRED MAZDA TO CREATE A PAINT WITH EXCEPTIONAL DEPTH AND REFLECTIVE QUALITY.

Clear top coat Translucent layer Reflective/ absorptive layer Body

High-chroma pigment High-brightness small aluminum flake Light-absorbing flake

visi.co.za

| 155

V I S I

/

Waiting for You

From SUV crossovers to a nimble sportscar, Mazda South Africa’s vehicles all carry the ultimate goal of Mazda’s “Kodo: Soul of Motion” design language.

CX-30 A new addition to the Mazda line-up, sitting between the CX-3 and CX-5 models, this compact crossover combines the bold proportions of an SUV with the elegant styling of Kodo design.

CX-5 A unique combination of speed and grace defines the core of the Mazda CX-5 design. Representing boldness, elegance and maturity, it sets the standard for a new generation of SUVs.

CX-3 Combining the stylish design of a hatchback with the versatility of an SUV, the CX-3 has a balanced athletic presence, streamlined simplicity and elegant details.

MAZDA2 Upgraded late last year, this popular hatchback has clean and elegant lines, along with a low centre of gravity, a sense of width, and stability.

MAZDA3 With contours that capture movement even at a standstill, the next-generation Mazda3 ushers in a bold new era of the matured Kodo design language.

BT-50 Built for fun as much as for hard work, the BT-50’s exterior is bold and adventurous, styled with tough lines to match its solid capabilities.

MX-5 RF Lightweight, with exhilarating handling, the MX-5 brings car and driver together in the spirit of jinba ittai – the philosophy of “horse and rider as one”.

156 |

visi.co.za

VISI

LEFT Stack pendant

by Mash.T Design Studio, R9 850.

"GREAT DESIGN...

PHOTO SUPPLIED

… is as BEAUTIFUL as it is FUNCTIONAL, I think.”

– Thabisa Mjo, creative director, Mash.T Design Studio (See Page 194)

DESIGN, ART, ARCHITECTURE, TECH, BOOKS, BOOZE & ENTERTAINMENT

visi.co.za

| 157

V I S I

Rising Talent

Design Indaba and the Department of Arts and Culture just celebrated 16 years of the Emerging Creatives programme, which gives 50 talented young designers a chance to show their work at the event. We caught up with four of them.

ROBYN AGULHAS Streetwear designer, Cape Town What do you love most about being a designer? It has taken me a long time to discover my creativity and to find what I’m truly passionate about. I had doubts about my ability for so many years, even though I’ve always known that I loved fashion. Every time I design, I do it with my whole heart. To me, it’s not just clothes; it’s the story of the collection. I’m grateful that I have the ability to create from what inspires me, and to see my ideas come to life.

Describe your designs in three words.

Tech-wear, detailed, different.

What do you want to convey through your designs?

My graduate collection conveys a message of how attached we are to our devices, and what the future

158 |

visi.co.za

R E A S O N S

of fashion could possibly look like if we had technology fitted into our everyday wear. Through my designs, I also want to convey the quality and attention to detail found in locally made clothing.

Biggest inspiration? My friends and family. I love to see them grow and do what they love. From really creative friends in music, art, design, modelling and film to those who are in the corporate environment and absolutely own what they do, they all inspire me to keep pushing and keep doing what I love. My mom is also a huge inspiration – thanks to her, I’ve seen what determination and hard work look like.

Plans for 2020? I’m currently freelancing in the film industry as an assistant stylist, but I would love to push my brand sinCHUI, and collaborate with people in the worlds of art and music. I’m not too sure what the future holds for me, but I’m ready for anything that is meant to be. I’ll continue to create and put in the hard work. robyn_agulhas |

sinchui_

PHOTOS ASANELE MFENGU (PHUMELELA MALINGA) AND SUPPLIED WORDS LINDI BROWNELL MEIRING

1

/

V I S I

/

MMAMOTSATSI MASIKE Interior/furniture designer, Joburg How has working as a space planner informed your own practice? Having worked as an interior designer who didn’t design furniture, I felt that some spaces lacked character.

Yes, I could add wall, floor or ceiling finishes, but it wouldn’t add enough character to the space, and it left me with a feeling that something was missing from the design. I saw an opportunity to create statement, accent furniture pieces that could be used in spaces as an added “twist” – to bring the spaces to life and give them soul.

What do you love most about creating? I love that creating is abundant. I love how the process has infinite possibilities and solutions – not just one correct answer, but an intuitive one. It is the act of mindfulness that I enjoy the most because it requires me to be my most authentic self. It’s like prayer

R E A S O N S

or worship. It’s me being in an active state of listening to the silent space within; being able to feel the passion, love and grace that is in and around us; and being able to transfer and translate that energy/feeling into the creation of something deeper and bigger than myself.

Biggest inspiration? The richness of the African continent’s culture and heritage.

Plans for 2020? For my work to get into art, design and cultural spaces. For some of my pieces to be on display in museums or galleries. For my company to be recognised.

To get a range of clients, local and international. To showcase my work at the Milan Furniture Fair and London Design Week.

I’d also like to collaborate with other creatives, such as Rich Mnisi, Trevor Stuurman and Laduma Ngxokolo.

Mmamotsatsi won the first annual Ravi Naidoo Residency for Emerging Creatives, and will spend an all-expensespaid residency abroad courtesy of sponsors Clout, the Nando’s Design Programme. designmuse_88

visi.co.za

| 159

V I S I

/

PHUMELELA MALINGA Fashion designer and mechanical engineer, Joburg From mechanical engineering to fashion: what made you decide to make the jump? Fashion was always embedded in me. When I was growing up, my mother wouldn’t let me leave the house without properly coordinated outfits. I studied mechanical engineering, so fashion took a back seat – but I like to believe I was the coolest engineering student in my class! What really catalysed the jump from engineering to fashion was the lack of variety of prints, cuts and colours in men’s retail departments. Walking through the women’s section always left me asking, “Why is there so much variety?” I noticed this gap and set my sights on filling it.

What do you love most about creating? It’s empowering.

There’s just something about starting the day with nothing and ending it with something tangible that excites me. What I love most about it is the journey of constantly surprising myself with my increasing ability and interest in a topic.

160 |

visi.co.za

R E A S O N S

What does your brand BY PHUME stand for?

In addition to creating high-quality customer experiences, the BY PHUME brand is a youth-driven movement. It focuses on empowering the youth by creating a network that stems from a common place of interest. We believe in the talent and potential of the youth, and we nurture that through collaborations and engaging content.

Biggest inspiration? I think when local talent Thebe Magugu recently won the prestigious LVMH Prize, it was massively inspiring. He was the first African designer to achieve this kind of global recognition. That gives young designers such as myself great confidence, because the world is finally acknowledging the talent that we know we’ve always had. I am inspired and motivated to add a chapter to African fashion history.

Plans for 2020? The brand’s focus for 2020 is ready-towear apparel. In many ways, first impressions last, and since we are a new brand, we want to set up a strong foundation for the future. We will also be working on expanding our footprint locally and internationally. by_phume

V I S I

SIYANDA MAGABA Furniture designer, Durban You launched your own furniture design brand while you were still at university. When did you know you wanted to be a furniture designer?

The idea to start Africular came about in 2019. I started it not just as a furniture design brand, but as an interior design brand, with space planning, conceptual design and installation services attached. I completed my first interior project for fashion brand LSL, which encouraged further interest in learning and exploring practical skills. I have always been a “do it” type of person, and I see my company as a tool to educate myself in every aspect of the design industry.

Tell us about your collection. Africular is a movement towards creating eco-efficient furniture that’s inspired by geometric African patterns. The brand is influenced by the principle of creating for a purpose and crafting unique, unpredictable characters in furniture design.

Exploring and learning by doing is my design mission.

/

R E A S O N S

Believing and looking past limitati ns to ac ieve new possibilities is the foundation of the brand. The current collection consists of four pieces, which differ slightly from one another as a result of the behaviour of the materials and the condition of the reclaimed timber. The signature V-like cutout represents the African zigzag pattern known as the “path of the ancestor”, which is an expression of the ups and downs we face in life on our path to achieving our goals.

Biggest inspiration? My grandfather, who taught me about hard work and determination. He inspired me to be who I am today through his knowledge and wisdom. I am also heavily inspired by the philosophies and craftsmanship of [Bauhaus school founder] Walter Gropius.

Plans for 2020? My plan for 2020 is to expand on the knowledge and skills I’ve obtained through my varsity years and while running my design business. The Africular project is meaningful to me – the mission is to break the boundaries of inaccessibility to African-inspired designer furniture. I plan to evolve the Africular collection to create more functional and aesthetically pleasing furniture, and create more opportunities for accessibility. magaba_designs

visi.co.za

| 161

V I S I

2

/

R E A S O N S

Go with the Flow

eading interior-design company Okha’s sensual new coffee table is both sleek and organic. Known as Laguna – the Spanish word for “pond” or “lagoon” – this piece was initially commissioned by ARRCC for Cheetah Plains, a luxury safari destination in Sabi Sands. Its meandering form and smooth black metal top are inspired by the still depths of a dark pond, making for a design that adds an element of mystery to any living space.

Laguna can be custom-made in a range of materials, including stone, metal, mirror and reinforced glass. As Okha creative director Adam Court explains, the legs and table body will always be made from two different finishes or materials, because each represents a different physical element. “The flat horizontal surface of the table (‘water’) is enveloped by the surrounding ‘landscape’ that rises above the surface,” he says. okha.com

L

162 |

visi.co.za

PHOTO ADAM LETCH WORDS BIDDI RORKE

Okha’s Laguna coffee table melds art, abstraction and application.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Think Pink

t’s not often Carmen Kelly and Susie Hart of Durban design house Georgette Black get such a brief brief. “Make it pink!” was the call from beautysalon owner Annie Ludick. “Her brief was even in capital letters on the WhatsApp message!” says Carmen, who has been curating spaces in Durban for 15 years.

Annie and her partner, former ad executive-turnedeventing guru Kgolo Mthembu, are creatives themselves.

I

The salon, Annaesthetic, is an addition to their existing hub, where Annie also owns a sassy dance studio and Kgolo runs the popular rooftop bar Views at Twenty5, overlooking Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Annaesthetic’s design is the ultimate colour-block experiment, and Carmen layered multiple textures and soft hues to best showcase Annie’s favourite colour.

“We also thought about what pink means,” says Carmen.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Reception area; hairstyling and makeup area; a treatment room; Carmen (left) and Susie.

164 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS MICHELLE REYNOLDS (@MICHELLE_REYNOLDS_IMAGERY) WORDS MELANIE REEDER-POWELL

3

Durban beauty salon Annaesthetic schools us in colour-blocking while harking back to a luxe 1940s Miami Beach, echoing the city’s Art Deco accents and penchant for tropical kitsch.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

“WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT PINK MEANS, AND WE LOOKED TO A BYGONE ERA OF THE BEAUTY SALON…”

“It’s a healing colour, in addition to suggesting love and self-love. Annie and Kgolo have a baby girl, so at the time we were all feeling the pink! We also looked to a bygone era of the beauty salon, when women would spend the entire day getting their hair set and their nails done.”

The location, with its views of Durban’s beachfront, prompted Carmen to use a glam, 1940s Miami, tropical aesthetic, bringing in the Art Deco landscape with subtle

accents of gold and pockets of green. All furniture and fittings were custom-designed and built, utilising soft contours and comforting fabrics that invite you to stay a while. Oversized, shell-shaped velvet chairs at the pedicure stations evoke Alice In Wonderland awe, and tell the story of the pristine pearl that will inevitably emerge post-pamper… georgetteblack.com |

georgette_black

annaestheticsa

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT The only way to have a pedicure; treatment room decor; hair-washing station.

visi.co.za

| 165

V I S I

4

/

R E A S O N S

Design Journey

Laurie Wiid van Heerden of Wiid Design has had a love affair with cork – and furniture pieces as collectible objects – since 2010.

2013

2010/2011 During my apprenticeship with local artist Wim Botha, I worked on weekends at his studio, designing my own pieces.

That’s when I developed my signature 5mm steel bench leg, made specifically to hold large timber beams. I sourced old timber from a farm on the West Coast to manufacture my first product: a 3m reclaimed timber bench with 5mm mild steel legs, custom-sprayed in automotive 2K paint.

After designing the signature bench legs, I started focusing on collectible pieces and working with painters and artists, which has always intrigued me. Lionel Smit and I have been friends for years; after a meeting at his studio we decided to collaborate on a collection of limited-edition, one-of-akind hand-painted steel benches. The first was exhibited in 2014 at GUILD, Africa’s international design fair.

2014

As my confidence in working with cork grew, I designed the Large Cork Pendant with a 900mm solid-cork shade – the world’s largest pendant fabricated from façade grade cork – which won the Best Lighting Design award at 100% Design.

166 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS MICHAELA STEHR

2015 World Design Capital 2014 resulted in many design opportunities. One of these was my collaboration with dhk Architects’ Aram Lello on a mobile pavilion, clad entirely in façade grade cork, which required indoor and outdoor furniture. The Corkabitation collection (above left) was the result. Also that year, Indigenus founder Peter van der Post approached me with an idea for high-end planters conceptualised by local designers. My studio designed the Soma Planters (above right), which included the first planters of the later Indigenus collection.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

2017 Spektrum is a collection fabricated from laminated glass and painted cork. The experimental pieces allowed my studio to play with various painting techniques and pigments to emphasise the unique textures of cork against the smoothness of contemporary glass.

This collection was first showcased at Southern Guild gallery as part of the “Colour Field” group exhibition.

2018 The large cork armoire (top left), with doors hand-painted

by Lionel Smit, was designed for Southern Guild’s newly opened Silo District gallery, for a show called “Stellar”.

The Terra Planters (top right), another collaboration with Indigenus, are a contemporary interpretation of the midcentury genre. The ceramic table collection with Ceramic Matters (above) is an evolution of other work we’d done.

2019

My latest collection of indoor/ outdoor furniture (far left) combines Italian terrazzo and dark cork, and is inspired by the shapes of the Spektrum collection. Most recently, Bonne Espérance Gallery approached Wiid Design and Ceramic Matters with an offer to showcase our pieces at its premises in Paris. For this exhibition, we collaborated on a ceramic drop-leaf dining table, a round ceramic side table and a short curiosity bench.

My studio also designed a new line of African Cork Pendants.

visi.co.za

| 167

V I S I

R E A S O N S

Tiled Canvas

New from WOMAG is a selection of tiles that could provide the perfect backdrop in your home.

1

3

2

4

1. DORTMUND HEXAGON Used on its own, the Dortmund Hexagon delivers a classic marble look. To add a decorative difference to the space, combine it with the Dortmund Border Hexagon, which creates a honeycomb pattern.

Matte • 225 x 259 x 9mm • From R499/m² (excl. VAT) 2. GLACE ONICI The beautiful, barely grey marble-look porcelain tile with a polished finish creates a timeless look.

Polished • 800 x 800 x 10mm • From R269/m² (excl. VAT) 3. BELLO STATUARIO The marble-look white porcelain tile with grey veining is available in two sizes and two finishes – matte and polished. Both options result in a seamless flow throughout your home.

Matte and polished • 1 800 x 900 x 10mm and 900 x 900 x 10mm • From R399/m² (excl. VAT) 4. NAVONA CALACATTA Large-format marble-look porcelain tiles – white with grey veining – create an uncomplicated design.

Polished • 1 200 x 600 x 11mm • From R499/m² (excl. VAT) womag.co.za

168 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS CELESTE JACOBS

5

/

www.mavromacandthegatehouse.co.za Johannesburg: +27 (0)11 444 1584 | Cape Town: +27 (0) 797 4739 | Port Elizabeth:+27 (0)41 373 1266 | Durban:+27 (0)31 208 9520 +27 (0)10 021 5931

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

The Art of Walking

6

rt is as much a part of the Spier brand as its fine wines and delicious food, and about 3 200 artworks have been assembled by the Spier Arts Trust in a celebrated collection. At any given time, about 900 of these are on display at various indoor and outdoor locations around the estate – and now, for the first time, these have been curated into a self-guided walking tour, with highlights that range from paintings and sculptures to mosaic and mixed media.

Collect your free, easy-to-navigate fold-out map from the hotel reception, the tasting room or one of the restaurants, and wend your way through the estate’s various buildings

A

and outdoor spaces, exploring the wonderful array of contemporary South African art. With Spier a committed supporter of local art and artists, you can also find out how the Spier Artisan Apprenticeship Programme and Creative Block are providing career development opportunities for artists under the auspices of Spier’s Growing for Good initiative.

If you don’t feel like finding your own way around, a guided tour is offered once a month by one of the Spier Arts Trust registrars, who will give you fascinating insights into the collection. These free guided art walks happen on the first Saturday of every month at 10am. spier.co.za

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Shahada II by Igshaan Adams; The Dying Slave by Marco Cianfanelli; a mosaic collaboration between artist Lindile Magunya and the Spier Arts Academy in the Mosaic Kraal..

170 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS STEVE SMITH

Historic Stellenbosch wine farm and art benefactor Spier has launched an official Art Route.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS: n THE DYING SLAVE Artist Marco Cianfanelli Medium Limestone, marble, granite, pebbles, industrial glass, porcelain, glass smalti, and handcrafted ceramics set into nine steel frames This 42.6m2 mosaic artwork consists of about 225 000 pieces of tesserae, and took five months to complete. n UNTITLED (1, 2 and 3) Artist Qaqambile Bead Studio Medium Glass beads The beautifully detailed portraits of three women illustrate the versatility of beading as a medium for capturing subtlety of colour and mood. n SONGSMITH (THE GREAT KAROO) Artists Jenna Burchell Medium Rock, metallic strips Twelve ancient, fractured Karoo rocks, repaired in the Japanese kintsukuroi method, have been transformed into interactive sound sculptures.

n MOSAIC KRAAL South Africa’s first permanent outdoor exhibition of mosaics features the work of 16 contemporary local artists, including Selvin November, Lindile Magunya and Pierre Fouché. n SHAHADA II (Part 2) Artist Igshaan Adams Medium Beads, cotton, fabric and metal The tapestry spells “testimony” in Arabic. This exquisitely intricate weaving echoes the complexity of Igshaan Adams’s multifaceted identity. n ALTERED YARNS Artist Tamlin Blake Medium Newspaper, yarn Using a homemade spindle, Tamlin Blake spun dyed sheets of newspaper cut into thin strips to create a textured yarn. Her tapestries explore the many ways in which our lives are shaped by the stories of others.

FROM TOP Songsmith by Jenna Burchell; Altered Yarns by Tamlin Blake; the map of Spier’s Art Route.

visi.co.za

| 171

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

A Luthier Continua

7 T

We chat to four celebrated South African guitar-makers about the beautiful instruments they create.

his modern instrument of the people may be dominated by big brand names such as Fender and Gibson, but the work and recognition of the true luthier as a master craftsperson is far from declining. It’s a discipline drawn from the old standard of workshop inspiration, toil and trial, and those who dedicate their lives to perfecting it are revered by the artists who get to play the product. Four South African luthiers of note spoke to us about their inspiration – and their passion for their craft is unmistakable.

THEUNIS FICK 1

Theunis Fick Guitars For craftsmen like Theunis, the motivation is as simple as it gets: the pursuit of mastery. “Besides the woodwork, I have a keen interest in understanding the physics that govern the functioning of the guitar.

Studying the manipulation of these measurable acoustic and mechanical properties through woodwork provides an ever-expanding understanding of the guitar – which in turn fuels deeper investigation.”

TheunisFickGuitars

MATTHEW RICE

2

Casimi Guitars For Matthew, it’s a question of truly understanding the nature of the beast. “It’s about releasing the sonic potential of any given piece of 5A master-grade timber, and matching that with the hundreds of others required in an instrument. It’s figuring out how to hone each piece to just the right dimensions to unleash its resonant potential, and have all the pieces working together as a whole to make an instrument that does not stand in the way of music, but disappears in the player’s hands and sets them free to channel heaven.” casimiguitars.com

MARC MAINGARD

3

Maingard Guitars With customers including Crosby, Stills & Nash and Earl Klugh, Marc has been recognised as one of the top five guitar-makers in the world. “Part of it is that we all get given talents. I was blessed with a special talent and good ears. Then there’s the passion and the desire. I’m 70, and I’ve been building guitars for 50 years – but I still wake up every morning thinking about what I can do to the guitar I’m currently working on…”

MURRAY KUUN

4

Murray Kuun Guitars Murray designed his first piece of furniture at the age of six. In the 1990s, an adventure in Florence led to a stint in violin-making. “I made two or three dozen traditional violins, but quickly got bored doing the same thing over and over – so I went into making guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, harp guitars and, most recently, a renaissance lute. My interest comes from a love for music, not a love for ‘equipment’ – and I just happen to love design as much. I seldom make the same design twice.” murraykuun.com

172 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS ANTON MARSHALL

guitarsafrica.co.za

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

1

2

“IT’S ABOUT MAKING AN INSTRUMENT THAT DOES NOT STAND IN THE WAY OF MUSIC, BUT DISAPPEARS IN THE PLAYER’S HANDS AND SETS THEM FREE TO CHANNEL HEAVEN.”

3

4

visi.co.za

| 173

V I S I

R E A S O N S

Tonal Talent

Joburg-based artist Seboni Abner Makgamatha, aka Sir Abner, gives us some insight into his design ideas, including a recent collaboration with bubbly brand Pongrácz.

ell us about your design journey.

I grew up in Mamelodi, and studied in Pretoria after school. My formal background is in graphic design and multimedia. I got into retail because I wanted to work in fashion; I just didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. I always saw fashion as a way of mashing everything together. It was the Zeitgeist of the art world, where things meet and make sense – you can always synthesise and weave ideas, and create something new.

T

You’re big on collaboration – why is it so important for design? Collaboration is what got us to an era that I like to call post-post-modern, where niche and individuality are really becoming the theme. We can be so different – and we can collaborate on a project but still have individual voices of equal strength, for a bigger, sustainable cause.

Because of collaboration, the world has become small.

I could be working with anyone in the world, interacting not just with their work but with their culture, how they live, their points of view. It allows us to be open-minded.

You recently worked with the Pongrácz brand.

What was your brief for the collab?

The brand liked my black-and-white aesthetic – I’m usually dressed in black or white, or a combo, because I don’t want to dictate what people should buy through my sartorial choices. Pongrácz has a feature within the brand that is a black-and-white stripe – and they wanted to see what I’d come up with using this small element of design.

Your Insta bio says “AntiFashion”. What does that mean?

When I think of fashion, I think of a mannerism. Fashion gives you a style, but fashion never really changes. Its styles, however, are always changing and evolving. My responsibility is to show other people what this can mean. I don’t favour a certain fashion, but I welcome styles. Everything is fluid, and and it expands beyond clothes. It goes beyond sustainability, which relates to social impact. Inclusive fashion is also a thing.

Who is modelling your clothes? This is all “AntiFashion” – using it as a tool to drive something bigger than yourself. sir.abner | pongracz.co.za

ABOVE Sir Abner with “The Populist”, the Bold Print of the Year, created in collaboration with Pongrácz.

174 |

visi.co.za

PHOTO SUPPLIED WORDS MICHAELA STEHR

8

/

WHAT ARE YOU MAKING FOR SUPPER? HOW ABOUT A RESERVATION…

FROM FINE DINING TO CASUAL EATING, CHOOSE FROM OVER 7 000 RESTAURANTS ON EATOUT.CO.ZA

+

BOOK ONLINE

But if you feel like cooking, VISIT FOOD24.COM FOR OVER 20 000 RECIPES

V I S I

R E A S O N S

New & Improved

These public buildings – one a school, the other a medical research facility – show the ability of South African architects to meet a brief for a specialised environment.

BOTHA’S HALTE PRIMARY SCHOOL by Tiaan Meyer of Meyer & Associates The brief The outdated, dilapidated building of Botha’s Halte Primary School between Worcester and Ceres had to be transformed into a state-of-the-art, technologically advanced school. The intention was to show how contemporary, sustainable architectural design – together with new educational technologies – could help bring world-class education to a rural community.

The result Established at the turn of the previous century by local farmers, the school serves an agricultural worker community – so it makes sense that the original buildings were incorporated into the new complex as a tangible link with its heritage. The contemporary building is sensitively designed within the landscape, using green technologies throughout.

Interior spaces are light, bright and happy, challenging spatial and design norms of educational buildings. The building’s form and curved roofscape are unique, and a Discovery Centre – an audiovisual and digital multimedia learning space – forms the central teaching hub. Botha’s Halte stands as a beacon of opportunity for children in rural South Africa. meyerandassociates.co.za

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The school entrance and unique curved roofscape; the library with its “tree of life” columns; an exploratory play area for younger learners; the computer room – the school also functions as an e-learning hub to which other schools in the vicinity can connect.

176 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS ADAM LETCH, ANTON SCHOLTZ WORDS DIANE DE BEER

9

/

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

DESMOND TUTU HIV FOUNDATION (DTHF) by Max Melvill and Ashleigh Killa of theMAAK The brief A new home was required for the industry-leading medical work that the DTHF conducts in the low-income area of Masiphumelele in Cape Town. The goal was to create a specialised facility for TB research and testing, and to represent this contribution to society through the architecture itself.

The result In plan, the building is sharply angled back so as to publicly welcome visitors to the new social forecourt that the centre creates. This same move helps the structure acknowledge and communicate with the existing facilities on the site.

On arrival, the new building shows its proudest face: from this vantage point, the north-facing aluminium façade fins optically combine to form a confident new image for DTHF. Moving across the site and changing the angle of view, the dynamic façade thins to subtly reveal the inner workings of the facility. This strong formal presence marks an impressive move forward for the foundation and its growing footprint in South Africa’s developing communities. The hope is that this project can lead the way to implementing more world-class public infrastructure in local areas that need them most. themaak.co.za CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The bright staircase leads the eye from ground to first floor; clean and simple materials form the material palette for the building: off-shutter concrete, aluminium fins and bright yellow accents; the north façade visually compounds to create a bold formal presence; DTHF’s new “face” makes room for a landscaped, social courtyard.

visi.co.za

| 177

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Rooms with a Hue

10 1

More impactful than paint, wallpaper always makes a strong statement.

Take your pick from our roundup of the latest offerings and remember, freedom of expression comes standard with all of them.

FABRIC BANK Joy of Zuri and Imani The designs featured in this collection are inspired by the silhouetted rooftops of Taourirt, one of Morocco’s best-known kasbahs – and the location for countless film shoots, including Gladiator (2000) and some episodes of Game of Thrones. R680/m². fabricbank.co.za

2

FABRIC BANK Sheni Moshi Inspired by traditional South African artistry, the Sheni Moshi collection pays homage to basket-weaving techniques. The result is a collection of wallcoverings that are all about intricate line work. R580/m². fabricbank.co.za

3

FABRIC BANK Keya Tama This design reimagines the lost practice of hand-drawn packaging and signage in a bold new way. R580/m². fabricbank.co.za

4

ORMS Si Maclennan Graphic designer Si Maclennan is a longtime Orms collaborator – the company regularly works with artists who have a unique style and point of view – and the fusion of Art Deco style with striking line work in his SM03 and SM04 wallpapers gives them all the hallmarks of a brilliantly contemporary take on the classics.

Available in textured suede R499/m², linen R455/m² and eco-friendly R549/m² options. ormsdirect.co.za

5

HERTEX Prisma Eclipse Teal Hertex’s new Prisma Eclipse Teal wallpaper design is all about pure, abstract precision: the geometrical figures form multiple shapes and patterns. This paper is purposefully calculated as well as flawlessly methodical. R1836 per 10m roll (53cm wide).

6

LEMON New Wave The striking New Wave range – which includes the I'm Okay You're Okay paper shown here – plays on ’70s nostalgia, but adds a modern twist. Available in paper-backed R590/m² or fabric-backed R715/m² options. madebylemon.co.za

7

CARA SAVEN Fan of the Opera Travel back to the roaring ’20s with Fan of the Opera, an ultrafeminine, Deco-inspired, Vividtex Seamless wallpaper from Cape Town designer Cara Saven’s Pattern and Design range. R490/m². carasaven.com

178 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS CELESTE JACOBS

hertex.co.za

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

visi.co.za

| 179

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Game Changer

mong the overblown roses, the squash courts and the old gents ruminating over their corporate glory days, the Country Club Johannesburg’s new pavilion – an undulating extension that covers the club’s outdoor restaurant and bar – has done a lot more than offer shelter from Highveld sun and storms. It’s got outsiders talking and members hustling for a table under it on a Friday evening, so they can sip good Chenin Blanc in cool surroundings while their offspring run wild on the lawns below.

Not so long ago, this was a sun-weathered, bumpy bricked terrace, dotted with clunky wrought-iron furniture and shaded by an ancient oak tree. Then architect Vedhant Maharaj and his Rebel Base Collective got involved. The young designer is a club member who cares deeply about the institution, but is just as ardent about his profession.

He’s worked extensively in heritage architecture and, as he puts it, “It’s never been my approach to replicate

A

180 |

visi.co.za

what’s old – it’s more of a conversation of what’s new with the old.” This is a prime example.

Parts of the building date back to the club’s opening in 1906. There were other additions, but the most recognisable is undoubtedly the Art Deco-style frontage built in the 1960s – ship’s balustrade details included.

Despite this new intervention, it’s still very much evident.

“We’ve tied back to that façade: we have the big windows that show off the Art Deco details, and the roof sits above the old frontage, so you can see it all,” says Vedhant.

His 10.5m addition was prefabricated off site and installed with minimal unsettling of the space. It sits lightly on the site, but nevertheless makes an impressive statement about an establishment shaking things up.

And the oak is still there – Vedhant and his team cut a huge hole in their pavilion to make space for the venerable old gal. So she’s part of the new wave too. rebelbase_clctv | thecountryclub.co.za

PHOTOS DAVE SOUTHWOOD WORDS SARAH BUITENDACH

11

The new pavilion at Country Club Johannesburg has transformed the way its members use the establishment, and updated the institution’s somewhat stuffy image.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

“THE BIG WINDOWS SHOW OFF THE ART DECO DETAILS, AND THE ROOF SITS ABOVE THE OLD FRONTAGE, SO YOU CAN SEE IT ALL.”

visi.co.za

| 181

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Roll with It

12

It’s finally a thing: LG’s award-winning Signature OLED TV R television – the very first TV that rolls back into its soundbar when not in use – will go on sale to the public.

he television has been the centre of the living room for decades, but not much about its design has changed since the creation of the flatscreen. But things are about to head in a fresh direction – one that many will find exciting, given the current craze for folding screens.

The new offering takes the form of a rollable TV that’s won a bunch of awards at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Yes, you read right: LG has been at the forefront of rollable TV design, showing off prototypes that either roll down from a ceiling like a projector or roll back into their soundbar when not in use. One of the latter is the LG Signature OLED TV R, a consumer-ready product that will go on sale in 2020.

The rollable OLED design is something straight out of the future, and is a glorious feast for the eyes if the LG US YouTube channel is anything to go by. Using cutting-edge technology, the 4K HDR TV will appear or disappear at the push of a button. It supports three types of view: full view; zero view; and a line view, which minimises the display but gives access to the weather, time and music.

Of course, the OLED panel is smart all round, with self-lighting pixels, AI 4K upscaling support, and AI Sound Pro to deliver the best settings by default – plus it is optimised for gaming, with high refresh rates and much less lag. It is also powered by the AI ThinQ processor (now standard on all LG smart products) that has integrated voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Alexa, and offers personalised recommendations via the webOS interface and Apple AirPlay 2 support. It also integrates with other connected home devices. lg.com

The LG Signature 65” OLED TV R will be available in the second half of the year. It is currently priced at $60 000 in the US.

182 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS NAFISA AKABOR

T

97% INTERNATIONAL SATISFACTION RATE

Like no other. đ YOUR COMPLETE SLEEP SOLUTION. đ FINEST INTERNATIONAL BRANDS. đ #1 IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

e

or

e

ers in

ee

Home of

đ PERSONALISED COMFORT AND SUPPORT. đ RECOMMENDED BY PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE. VENCASA - LIKE NO OTHER.

www.vencasa.co.za / 0861 60 60 60

• JOHANNESBURG: Clearwater Shopping Centre | Design Quarter | Kramerville | Hyde Park Corner | Bedfordview Shopping Centre • PRETORIA: Brooklyn Mall | Menlyn Shopping Centre.

• WESTERN CAPE: Canal Walk Shopping Centre | De Waterkant Media Quarter | Table Bay Mall • KZN: The Crescent at Umhlanga Ridge.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

13 Fruits of Their Labour

ineapple House isn’t your run-of-the-mill guest house. A passion project by owners Rupert and Lesley Sykes, it showcases their knack for interiors and understanding of architecture and design.

“I’ve been passionate about design from a young age,” Rupert explains. “I was often blown away by how beautiful someone could make their home look, and I think that’s where my interest stemmed from. I worked in construction in London for 21 years, and I often wanted to create something out of nothing, or maximise the potential of a space.”

Lesley and Rupert relocated back to South Africa in 2013. They found their family home by chance – the last of the 10 they viewed. Later, they bought the neighbouring Victorian house (a mirror of their own home), which eventually became Pineapple House. The boutique hotel got its name from the pineapple decals Rupert had used on his houses in the UK.

P

184 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS MICHAELA STEHR

A grand old dame in Cape Town’s Sea Point recently received a facelift, transforming it into a bright boutique hotel.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

“People would knock on the door and ask whether we were ‘the pineapple house’,” he elaborates. “As well as it being a huge decor trend, the name stuck through familiarity.”

They joined forces with Grobler Architects and Melissa Kerkhoff of Lula Fabrics to make their vision a reality. The resulting colourful space consists of nine luxury suites, each exuding a unique and personal charm that makes every corner of Pineapple House a new decor delight to discover. From custom wallpaper to exposed bricks and an original wooden balustrade, the design theme combines elements of contemporary and traditional African design with creative personal touches to create a space that feels like a home away from home. Local art adorns the walls, and the bold use of fabrics creates a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere. With a communal lounge with a fireplace, a breakfast space and an outside deck with a cute splash pool, this is the perfect getaway destination. pineapplehouse.co.za

WIN -

A ONE NIGHT STAY Page 62

visi.co.za

| 185

V I S I

14

/

R E A S O N S

Colour Correct

Located in the heart of Kramerville’s Design District, Paintsmiths’ new flagship showroom introduces a fresh approach through an innovative, curated colour system.

hoosing a paint colour can be nerve-wracking: the colour you see on one of those small swatches often looks very different on an entire wall. Paintsmiths Kramerville’s curated KolormaxX system simplifies your decision with larger, physically painted palettes to promote colour and texture accuracy. Pop into the new Kramerville concept showroom and you’ll be able to make an accurate call on which hue best suits the space you’re planning to paint.

The brand also has a strong a green ethos, not only focusing on environmentally friendly products, but extending this commitment to sustainable processes to minimise its overall carbon footprint. All of Paintsmiths’ specialised floor and wall coatings have a Green Star rating, certifying them as hazard-free, chemical-free products.

Paintsmiths is also an exclusive Earthcote distributor, and is Green Building Council South Africa-approved. paintsmiths.net

ABOVE Paintsmiths Kramerville features large, physically painted palettes to promote colour and texture accuracy.

186 |

visi.co.za

PHOTO SUPPLIED WORDS STEVE SMITH

C

V I S I

Stylish Sanctuary

The Ashia Cheetah Sanctuary outside Paarl is a conservation destination that’s worth a day visit – or a stay in one of the four beautiful suites.

estled at the foot of the dramatic Drakenstein Mountains, Ashia (the name means “life and hope”) was founded to prevent the further decline of the cheetah population through its efforts to release captive-bred animals back into the wild. It also offers the opportunity to contribute to these conservation initiatives via volunteer programmes, working holidays and research/internship programmes – something visitors can do while staying at the farm’s new facilities.

The first building you’ll notice on arrival is the remodelled workshop that used to service machinery on a 35-hectare farm. “Our aim with this building, along with the others on the estate, was to transform it in a manner that would in some way retain the integrity of its farmhouse vernacular,” says designer Nicky Tyers, adding that a fundamental part of the remodel involved installing expansive windows and doors to maximise mountain views.

N

R E A S O N S

Containing a reception area, café and gift shop, the barn’s interior is characterised by a sophisticated, industrial aesthetic that uses concrete, exposed brick, sandblasted pine and oak, metal cladding and bespoke glazed ceramic tiles. “This voluminous space demanded myriad textures for interest and visual weight,” says Nicky. “In the absence of colour, the abundant light creates its own unique palette by reflecting off the varying smooth and rough surfaces.

These subtle shades contrast vividly against the backdrop of black corrugated cladding.”

The four luxury guest suites are a stylish take on Afro-chic.

“I designed grand, king-sized four-poster beds with mosquito nets, which transport you to a place of sumptuous comfort and indulgence,” says Nicky. Every suite has been given a signature look using faux leathers, fabrics from Ardmore’s Zambezi Collection, Nguni hides and dyed springbok skins.

Each has a beautifully finished kitchenette and bathroom. ashia.co.za | liontyers.com

ABOVE The Barn houses the reception area, café and boutique gift shop.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The café is a refreshing pit stop for day visitors and overnight guests; in the luxury suites, king-sized four-poster beds ensure guests’ comfort; handmade memorabilia can be purchased at the gift shop.

188 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS KARL ROGERS WORDS NATALIE BORUVKA

15

/

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

visi.co.za

| 189

V I S I

R E A S O N S

Love at First Light

Sensually sculptural and instantly recognisable, Tom Dixon’s latest designs reimagine the ways in which lighting can work to elevate an interior space.

MELT STAND CHANDELIER The Melt range is a collaboration between Tom Dixon and the Swedish design collective, Front. The lamps’ appearance is reminiscent of molten glass or the interior of a glacier, and the design was born out of the quest to create an organic, naturalistic lighting object. The ultraluxe Melt Stand Chandelier is the latest addition to this gorgeous range; pendants, table, floor and surface lights are also available.

OPAL ARC Working with its German engineering partners, the brand designed a sculptural overreach lamp (above right). Featuring an ethereal orb that hovers at the end of a long metal “wand”, the lamp is supported by a satisfyingly chunky metal base. The designers removed the commonly used dangling light bulb and replaced it with the latest Tom Dixon LED disc, making the Opal Arc an extremely powerful illuminating device.

CUT Futuristic and faceted, the Cut lights feature a mirror finish when off, then transform into translucent kaleidoscopic gems as soon as they are switched on.

Eye-catching reflections repeat within the diamond-cut interior. Produced in both chrome and smoke finishes, and a variety of sizes and fixture types, these are the latest adventures in the brand’s ongoing fascination with reflections and transparency.

SPRING This series of three pendant lamps is made up of pliant stainless-steel “ribbons” in white or brass finishes, woven around a custom-made, dimmable Tom Dixon LED disc.

The semi-transparent shape can be adjusted to form a variety of silhouettes, from a flat arrangement reminiscent of a spirograph drawing, to a flying-saucer configuration.

Find the Tom Dixon range at Casarredo and Créma.

190 |

visi.co.za

casarredo.co.za | cremadesign.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS CELESTE JACOBS

16

/

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Monochrome-Mad

TOM DIXON COPPER WIDE PENDANT LAMP, R13 040 cremadesign.co.za Highly reflective, with a warm metallic glow, this stretched sphere light is also available in copper and blue.

STUA ECLIPSE NESTING TABLES, FROM R3 150 cremadesign.co.za Inspired by natural shapes, these tables are available in various sizes and colours.

KOLK CUP, R800 FOR 4 georgegibbens.com Each of these simple, delicate porcelain cups comes with a natural beech-wood saucer.

SMEG FRIDGE, R39 499 smeg.co.za The iconic vintage-style fridge’s rounded corners and retro steel handles will make a cool kitchen statement.

HAY ABOUT A TABLE, R38 000 cremadesign.co.za Available in two heights, with round or rectangular tops, the table’s organic curves evoke a feeling of lightness.

|

PHOTO

17

A timeless decor trend, black and white can be seen throughout recent history, from the Victorian era and the Art Deco period to the 1970s Korean Dansaekhwa style of painting and contemporary Scandinavian design.

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

SEOUL MILK JUG, R69.95 woolworths.co.za This minimalist milk jug is perfect for your morning cuppa, and comes with a matching teapot and sugar bowl.

CASABLANCA CUTLERY SET, R679 woolworths.co.za Titanium-plated, this 16-piece set is sturdy enough for daily use, and is dishwasher-safe.

GUBI BESTLITE TABLE LAMP, R23 110 cremadesign.co.za The classic range by GUBI, in production since 1930, has clear Bauhaus influences.

Available in four finishes.

TOM DIXON WINGBACK CHAIR, R96 645 cremadesign.co.za A British classic remastered for a new decade, the Wingback chair features sturdy legs of either solid oak or copper-plated steel.

LAURENCE THREE-SEATER COUCH, R10 999 cielo.co.za Featuring adjustable headrests, the modern, sophisticated three-seater is available in White, Fossil and Sandstone.

visi.co.za

| 193

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Shape Shifters

18

Award-winning designer Thabisa Mjo of interior and product design studio Mash.T tells us about her latest collection of pendant lampshades. t all began with the award-winning Tutu 2.0 light, Thabisa Mjo’s first take on melding traditional crafts with technology – while sharing stories of South Africa’s diverse cultures – in order to create a contemporary South African design aesthetic. Her next triumph in this area was the Hlabisa bench – a collaboration between Mash.T, Houtlander and master Zulu basket weaver Beauty Ngxongo.

“It was the form and shape of the backrest of the Hlabisa bench that made me ‘click’,” says Thabisa. “I discovered something about my work – it’s sculptural. The biggest sculpture we’ve made is ‘Sacrosanct’, which was exhibited at Milan Design Week 2019. It speaks to this architectural language, although it’s still quite rudimentary.”

Mash.T’s latest collection is another range of innovative pendant lights. “When I was making these new pendants, that’s what I had in mind: creating sculptural pieces, and using their shape as a canvas to showcase the skills and talent of the craftspeople,” says Thabisa.

The beading on the Liz, Weavers’ Nest and Mummy pendants is done by women at the Boitumelo Sewing Project in Johannesburg.

It is then masterfully applied to the frames by the head weaver at Mash.T, Derrily Hodgkinson.

“Derrily and I have been working together from the very beginning – we made the first Tutu 2.0 together,” says Thabisa. “We work out the pattern and how it will look on the pendants.”

The fourth item in the collection, the Stack pendant, is a little different – and has its own unique story to tell. “For the Stack pendant, I worked with Karingana Wa Karingana, a textile company in Mozambique,” Thabisa explains. “The fabric used is 100% pure cotton, handwoven by artisans in the Ivory Coast. It is my second time working with Karingana. Our first collaboration was on the Axis pendant, where we used a textile developed from banana leaves and wax cotton fabric, which is spun in Mozambique.” mashtdesignstudio.co.za

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The Liz pendant (350mm x 500mm), R6 500; the Stack pendant (900mm x 900mm), R9 850; the Weavers’ Nest pendant (450mm x 550mm), R5 710; the Mummy pendant (600mm x 300mm), R7 292.

194 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SARAH DE PINA WORDS CELESTE JACOBS

I

TE RR A by Laurie Wiid van Heerden

V I S I

R E A S O N S

India’s Finest

Between 15 and 19 April, the IHGF Delhi Fair Spring 2020 offers a vast array of decor items for your home.

ertified as the world’s largest collection of craft exhibitors under one roof, the IHGF Delhi Fair showcases India’s unique products, contemporary design and hand-crafting skills. The biannual event takes place in spring and autumn, and is organised by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).Through this event, the EPCH aims to create an efficient trading platform where markets and people come together – this, along with the huge sourcing opportunities for international buyers, has seen the fair become one of Asia’s one-stop sourcing events.

IHGF Delhi Fair Spring 2020 is a distinctive business platform for importers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, fashion designers, potential franchises, mail-order companies and more to source an unparalleled variety of hand-crafted lifestyle and textile products from a cross-section of local Indian manufacturers. Visitors can expect a variety of design-led crafts from carpets to art – made from quality materials and displaying inspired craftsmanship. ihgfspringfair.epch.in

C

EVENT DETAILS Now in its 26th year, the IHGF Delhi Fair is bigger and bolder. Five days (from 15 to 19 April) and 3 000 exhibitors spread over 197 000m² will bring an entire range of home, lifestyle, fashion and textile products to the India Expo Centre & Mart in New Delhi.

196 |

visi.co.za

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS CELESTE JACOBS

19

/

V I S I

R E A S O N S

Food with a View

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

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE 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 (opposite, bottom left) “elegant yet comforting” menu.

There is also a new deli and bakery on site, offering artisan bakes, fresh garden produce and specialty condiments.

lmost 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 muchloved 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

A

198 |

visi.co.za

expansive infinity deck, the new 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.

PHOTOS CHARLES RUSSELL WORDS STEVE SMITH

20

/

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

THE BRIEF WAS TO CREATE A STYLISH AND AUTHENTICALLY MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE FOR GUESTS.

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 new 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 new space is a wonderful winelands stop for breakfast through to dinner. cabriere.co.za

visi.co.za

| 199

V I S I

1. NIHILO AFRIKAN GOLD RUM Produced via cold distillation, this syrupy, molasses-based rum is aged in American oak barrels for a minimum of three months.

Expect smooth caramel flavours with touches of cinnamon and citrus clove on the palate, and a warm, lingering, spicy aftertaste.

R350, Tops at Spar

200 |

visi.co.za

R E A S O N S

Rum Diaries

Following the rise of artisanal gin producers in South Africa, artfully crafted rum has become the latest spirit to drip from stills across the country. Here are some of the latest bottles looking for a mixer.

2. GERTIE’S GOLD RUM Made by Cape Town food stylist Emma Wilson, Gertie’s is created using wine yeast and takes a minimum of six months to mature. Aromas of caramelised sugar, honey liqueur, spice, nutmeg and toasted oak are complemented by dried apricot notes.

R400, Gertie’s gerties_liquor

3. FLOATING DUTCHMAN CAPE RUM In a slightly different approach, distiller Dirk Prinsloo finishes Floating Dutchman rum in red-wine barrels. Caramel, dried stone fruit and dark chocolate are at the forefront of this Michelangelo Silver Medal and South African Spirits Trophy Gold Medal winner.

R269, Yuppiechef

4. INNOCENT SPIRITS RUM62 OVERPROOF RUM This rum is anything but innocent – it packs a serious (60% alcohol) punch. Created

by Andrew Wheeler and John Hardie, it’s slow-fermented and surprisingly smooth. It was voted best spirit and claimed gold at the 2020 Spirits Trophy, where it was said to match the best the Caribbean has to offer.

R315, Liquor City

5. CAPE OF STORMS FYN BOTANICAL RUM This botanically infused white rum is made in copper pot stills by Dylan Meiring. Essence of honeybush and naartjie features on the nose and the palate, as well as notes of cinnamon, allspice and coriander, with full caramel and butterscotch flavours.

R290, Norman Goodfellows

PHOTOS SUPPLIED WORDS MICHAELA STEHR

21

/

V I S I

/

R E A S O N S

Plant-Based Reads

GROW FRUIT & VEGETABLES IN POTS: PLANTING ADVICE & RECIPES FROM GREAT DIXTER

By Aaron Bertelsen Phaidon, R670 Focused on the expert advice of renowned Great Dixter gardener Aaron Bertelsen for successfully “growing your own” fresh produce in containers, this beautifully designed volume also includes 50 recipes that deliciously showcase the resulting ingredients.

THE KEW GARDENER’S GUIDE TO GROWING HOUSE PLANTS

By Kay Maguire White Lion Publishing, R269 There are loads of guides to growing indoor plants available right now, but this one – published under the aegis of one of the world’s top botanical gardens – stands out from the pack.

Combining delicate botanical illustrations with 12 enjoyable practical projects, it’s both informative and inspiring.

202 |

visi.co.za

REMARKABLE GARDENS OF SOUTH AFRICA

By Nini Bairnsfather Cloete Quivertree Publications, R655 Combining history with horticulture, this beautifully photographed and designed coffee-table book takes its reader on a memorable tour of 20 of South Africa’s finest gardens. From a remarkable rock garden created in the Magaliesberg by a pair of artists to several glorious Cape oases, this is one to repeatedly page through with pleasure.

THE BOLD DRY GARDEN: LESSONS FROM THE RUTH BANCROFT GARDEN

By Johanna Silver Timber Press, R739 Evocatively photographed by Marion Brenner, this book showcases the California garden created by Ruth Bancroft (1908-2017). After deciding to focus on succulents in the 1970s, she ended up with more than 2 000 species of cacti, succulent shrubs and trees – proof positive that you don’t need water to create something genuinely gorgeous in a garden.

THE STORY OF TREES AND HOW THEY CHANGED THE WAY WE LIVE

By Kevin Hobbs and David West Laurence King, R670 Maintaining, as its foreword writer suggests, “a delicate balance between fact-finding and storytelling”, this exquisitely illustrated book presents 100 species of trees from around the world. A great gift for gardeners, it is also a book to present to anyone fascinated by trees in general. We’d just like to request that they include the baobab in any revised editions…

PHOTOS JAN RAS, SUPPLIED WORDS ROBYN ALEXANDER

22

From a beautifully photographed tour of South Africa’s most memorable gardens to inspiration for those obsessed with trees, house plants or cacti, these books will get you into the great outdoors.

FEEL MORE DANISH

Vivi 2-Seater | R 14 699 Shop a wide range of Danish-designed sofas, chairs, tables and homeware for living and dining rooms, online & in-store.

8 Desmond Street, Kramerville, Johannesburg | 010 590 6336 179 Buitengracht Street, Gardens, Cape Town | 021 200 5904 sofacompany.com

Cape Town: 021 510 2846 | Paarden Eiland Johannesburg: 011 262 3117 | Sandton Durban: 031 000 1000 | Umhlanga nick@oggie.co.za www.oggieflooring.com

Oggie Outdoor- Nordic Ash, Herringbone.

...Oggie goes outdoor with thermo-treated decking.

www.blockandchisel.co.za

VISI

SHOPPING DIRECTORY

Superior Quality Timeless Appeal Individually Handcrafted 1.8mØ Mahogany finish

GUTI RANGE: Rift Valley Bag (New waxed cotton option)

Safari Duffel Bag

Roorkhee Chair

Harry Moon’s Wash Basin

+27 (0)41 484 6631 • sales@melvillandmoon.com

dea FROM PANTS TO PLANTS

This was inspired

by Rudyard Kipling’s “How the Whale Got His Throat” from his Just So Stories collection (where a crafty mariner uses his suspenders to stop the whales from eating all the fish in the ocean) and San Franciscobased designer Andrew Kudless’s “Swell Wave” shelf for Louis Vuitton’s latest Objets Nomades collection. The indigenous, evergreen, droughtresistant plants (Haworthia limifolia spiralis) are available at Starke Ayres nurseries.

The hanger and hooks are from Leroy Merlin.

208 |

visi.co.za

PHOTO STUDIO MIRU PRODUCTION AND WORDS ANNEMARIE MEINTJES

They’re making something of a fashion comeback – but suspenders can do more than just keep your pants from falling down.