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– the fact that we are all really building on what’s gone before. Nothing is profoundly and intrinsically original, but newness comes from adding a layer of your own creativity to an existing body of work. And I guess that fascination plays out in a lot of the content we do in VISI. It’s why we publish series such as “The Influencers’ Influences”, “Building an Icon”, and the wonderful series Jo Buitendach has been doing on different materials – anything from breeze block to glass, plastic and, in this issue, metal (page 144). It’s also why we also regularly include sympathetically renovated period architectural examples among the homes that we feature. What I hope all of them do is give context to, and a deeper appreciation of, the considered, clever…

IN DECEMBER 2022, HEATHER DODD of Savage + Dodd Architects became the first candidate to graduate with a PhD from the new practice-based design programme at the UFS architecture school. This degree, a first in SA, is an innovative way for architects to work towards a PhD that involves a thesis focused on their own buildings – a bit like an art degree with a practical and written component that reflects on a body of work. Earlier the same month, she was in Lisbon for the World Architecture Festival – a festival and live awards competition dedicated to architectural excellence from across the globe – where she was awarded a WAFX Award for her proposal for the Graduation Hall at Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley. The WAFX Awards are different…

VISI / CAMPS BAY VILLA RESTAURATEUR. Bar owner. Psychotherapist. Interior designer. As far as CVs go, Daniela Gottschalk’s is quite prolific. But there’s a linearity to the professions, as the Frankfurt-based Cape Town semigrant tells it: “Twenty years ago, I opened a restaurant; after that, I opened a bar. At the bar, people would buy a drink… and want to tell me all their problems. I said, okay, I’m not listening to all that for a cappuccino – so I qualified as a psychotherapist.” The interior design bug oficially bit in 2015, when friends asked Daniela to decorate the interior of a holistic boutique hotel in Split, Croatia – and after that, the job offers started streaming in. “I figured out that I never actually needed to open a bar…

THIS HOUSE IN MONAGHAN FARM IN LANSERIA, on a beautiful spot overlooking a bend in the Jukskei River, began with a bold, Brutalist architectural idea – but the result is an incredibly subtle, sensitive response to its setting. The owners, Wendy and Lukas van Niekerk, wanted a home made entirely of steel and raw, exposed concrete, and this spectacular plot of land offered them the chance to build from scratch. Lukas, an engineer, is a huge fan of the work of 20th-century Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, who is famous for his sensitive use of concrete as well as experiments with concrete and steel – and the Van Niekerks’ architect, Enrico Daffonchio, went to school in Scarpa’s hometown of Venice in Italy. The fates had aligned. Despite what Enrico refers to…

SUCCULENTS ARE A LOW-MAINTENANCE way to start incorporating plants into your home decor or kick off a house-plant hobby. In South Africa, we are fortunate to have a variety of indigenous succulents at our disposal that will grow both inside the home as well as on balconies or patios, or in gardens. Before jumping into a plant purchase, it’s a good idea to assess the space the plant will go in, as well as the type of maintenance you’ll be able to provide. Lighting is essential, and can be thought of in terms of direct (sun) light and indirect light (also referred to as filtered or diffused light). Most succulents – including the easyto-grow spekboom, crassula and aloe plants – require four to six hours of direct light per day.…

S’BO GYRE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST What item in your home has the greatest sentimental value? There is an immense sense of pride that engulfs me whenever I look at my bed. This was an investment I had been planning for more than a year. When I first saw it, I knew it was the one for me. With its comfy features and its shape-shifting springs, I was certain I was going to get it no matter what. The gag was, I couldn’t afford it… So I decided to wait an entire year, until the next Black Friday. This purchase symbolised my independence, growth and ascent into adulthood. It was not just any purchase; it was an investment that would come to epitomise my ideology with regards to buying items for my…

I TOOK A TRIP down memory lane recently with a visit to my late parents’ home. It was a sultry afternoon. Hot and heavy with sweat and sweet sentiment, I spent an eternity squatting and foraging through a large tin storage box that now sits in the shack at the back of the house. For years, my mother used it as a container for maize meal – a baseline staple food of black township life. These days, my sisters use it to keep what remains of my late father’s vinyl record collection, sustaining its use to safeguard another kind of nourishment. The irony was not lost on me as I sat there retrieving the germs and joints of my childhood cultural diet. The horde included what is easily the late…

UNASHAMEDLY EXTRAVAGANT WOOD REVISITED COLOUR REVIVAL DROP - DEAD ELEGANCE LINEAR SIMPLICITY…

lumenhotel hoteldasamoreiras ✖ MONTE CARMO 12 A historic building on a quiet corner in the ritzy neighbourhood of Príncipe Real has been restored to become the Monte Carmo 12. Local materials were used to bring the outdoors in, but much of the existing old-world charm of the original building has been preserved – like its sensational curving staircase and detailed facade. The rooms – just 10 of them, across three floors – offer a soft palette of the lightest grey, the blushest pink and the chalkiest white, with the views beyond bringing in a splash of bold colour. From the rooms’ balconies, the neutral interiors come to life against Lisbon’s red-tiled roofs and the sparkling blue of the Tagus beyond. montecarmo12 theivenshotel sublimelisboa…

ON FIRST ENCOUNTER, House Shaw is brutally simple: a series of three-dimensional boxes, positioned beside and on top of one another on a long, triangular site cut into one of the steep slopes that characterise Durban’s forested university suburb. It is made of face brick, concrete, louvre windows, shutters and a bit of aluminium; no need for paint, wallpaper, air conditioning – not even curtains. The house belongs to Colleen Wygers, who lived here with her late husband, fellow architect Paul Wygers. Sadly, Paul passed away shortly after we photographed the house; with Colleen’s permission, we’ve included his observations from that interview. Paul liked to describe the home as Modernism morphing the heritage Durban veranda home – and, when it went onto the market in 2013, the couple bought it…

VISI | MFULAWOZI WILDERNESS LODGE BEFORE THE MFULAWOZI PRIVATE GAME RESERVE’S BIYELA LODGE, there was nothing – except hectares of pristine bush adjoining the lower Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, and plenty of wild animals. “The elephants were our natural surveyors, providing well-worn paths to assist in deciding where the best routes for game-viewing would be,” says Barry Theunissen, who designed and built the lodge with his wife Sonya. “While we were building, elephants often came to inspect the progress. There are herds of more than a hundred that congregate in the river in front of the lodge site.” Having spent large chunks of time in wildlife reserves, the Theunissens named the lodge after local chief Phiwayinkosi Biyela, a descendent of King Shaka. The project was conceived collaboratively with the amakhosi who own…

DREAMED UP BY THE TEAM behind the Cape Town Furniture Focus initiative, the inaugural Cape Town Furniture Week (CTFW) aimed to function as a way to “celebrate the city, and what is being made there”, says cofounder Aimée Wolfaardt. The idea of making local design more accessible to the general public prompted Aimée and her business partner, Gareth Pearson, to create this new showcase. The objective, she explains, is to create “a platform that is an entry point for broader audiences to engage with what’s being designed and made in the city” – and anyone who attended the various openings and launches, or simply used CTFW’s handy printed map to move around the 12 venues involved on one of the four days of the festival, can attest that the public…

IN AN UNPREDICTABLE CITY, Joburgers can be certain of two things: that water is wet, and that Rosebank is always under construction. But despite the latter being eternally true, this central hub delivers with interesting and vibrant new spaces that are as enjoyable as they are Instagrammable. Here’s our guide to the area, featuring places with that special VISI stamp of approval. Heading for Rosebank? First, you’ve got to dress down to a T, in an unassuming yet undeniably eye-catching outfit. Then, make for Keyes Avenue. The carousel of restaurants, galleries and stores makes this one of the most serene and satisfying corners of Rosebank. There, True Design is a furniture store must-see – and not just to window-shop stylish furniture but also to capture your next screensaver. From a…

THESE THREE ESSENTIAL BOOKS – including the reissue of Ernest Cole’s iconic House of Bondage, one of the publications that first revealed the true state of black life under South Africa’s apartheid regime – are pivotal to the history of black and African photography. Whether the medium is used to document injustice or contribute to a revolutionary aesthetic, these works showcase the versatility and richness of black and African photographic art – past and present. ✖ AFRICA STATE OF MIND Edited by Ekow Eshun (Thames & Hudson, 2020) “Here, then, is photography consciously defined by subjective experience,” writes curator and editor Ekow Eshun in Africa State of Mind, which heralds a fresh and polyvalent visual conversation about what it means to live in Africa today. Featuring the work of more…

SIXTIES ROCK LEGEND JIMI HENDRIX loved an epaulet-bedecked Hussar military jacket, and the Spice Girls championed oversized cargo pants in the ’90s. This year, Beyoncé leads the next military charge with her new Adidas and Ivy Park collaboration, Park Trail. Inspired by 1990s hiphop culture, the collection features signature camo as well as sequins, but also an unexpected colour palette of orange, indigo and green. Adidas isn’t alone in its enlistment of the military trend. Louis Vuitton’s Resort 2023 collection featured a swoonworthy pair of multi-pocketed cargo pants in shiny gold leather. Dutch designer brand G-Star RAW, known for its use of raw denim, has long been a fan of army-inspired clobber – and this season’s reworking is all about bright hues and an edgy urban feel. Closer to home,…

IN THESE DAYS OF AN ACUTE oversupply of musical content from an ever-increasing number of streaming services and online retailers, it’s difficult to remember what life was like for a fan of niche music prior to the age of hyper-availability. It’s equally difficult to remember a time when hip-hop was considered a niche genre. I can’t remember what the first hip-hop song I ever heard was. Perhaps it was the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)”, or Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way”, both released in 1986. And both records were like a kick to the head – enough of a jolt to shift me off the course of New Romantic synthpop I’d been fervently following throughout my tweens. For me, hip-hop was compelling on two levels: the…

MADE FROM HIGH-GRADE ANODISED ALUMINIUM, these super-light yet sturdy stools have a beautiful hand-textured finish and a surprisingly comfortable ergonomic shape. They are fully recyclable, flat-packed and easy to assemble – and, being water- and scratch-resistant, can be used for both indoor and outdoor living. node_za | studio-node.co.za TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION, VISIT VISI.CO.ZA/WIN…

VISI | FOREST TOWN HOUSE KNOWN FOR HIS SCULPTURAL AND WELL - THOUGHT - OUT BUILDINGS, PANCHO GUEDES WAS INSPIRED BY SURREALISM, AFRICAN ART AND ARCHITECT ANTONI GAUDÍ. THE COLEMANS are not your average suburbanites – although chatting to the humble Audrey Coleman, now 90, you wouldn’t guess it. She and her late husband, Max, were active human-rights advocates during the apartheid years, both working for the Detainees’ Parents Support Committee, with Audrey also a long-standing and celebrated member of the legendary humanrights organisation, Black Sash. House Coleman has major cred too. Built in the early 1980s, it’s a masterpiece of clean lines and geometric shapes and, though tailor-made to be its owners’ retirement home, it’s also a piece of South African design history. “Our son Colin was a student…

A HIGH VERTICAL WINDOW CREATED ON THE GROUND FLOOR NEAR THE “ALTAR” ALLOWS THE MORNING SUN TO SHINE SERENELY THROUGH. SET AMONG NOORD-KENNEMERLAND’s dunes, wide beaches, quiet forests and colourful fields, this church has seen renovations several times in its hundred-year history. Unfortunately, the various adaptations and rebuilds masked much of the original architecture of this national monument – so its new owners looked for a team to reimagine the space. They wanted an original family home that both respected the building’s history and looked ahead to its new future. Netherlands-based interior designers Studio Erik Gutter pulled together a specialised team of architects under the guidance of creative director Erik Gutter, whose first order of business was to do some historical research. “We wanted to map out all the architectural…

1. HUAWEI SUPERCHARGE POWER BANK If aesthetics matter to you, even when it comes to power banks, take note of the Huawei SuperCharge 10 000mAh. It’s ergonomic and supports up to 22.5W fast charging on compatible devices through a USB-C and USB-A port. It has light indicators and bidirectional quickcharge support, so you can charge and recharge simultaneously. R999 | huawei.com/za 2. RING SPOTLIGHT CAM PLUS Ring has made smart home security accessible, and its new Spotlight Cam Plus with a rechargeable battery is a must for any modern home. This nifty gadget is understated yet impactful: with motion detection, it will sound a siren and shine two LED spotlights. It offers two-way talk and HD live view from an app, with colour night vision. Available in black or white.…

1. COPEL AND RUM In 2016, James Copeland had an idea to bring exotic spirits to the forefront of the South African booze industry. Using the finest African molasses, raw ingredients and botanicals, James chose to be innovative with classic spirits, and put a spin on the traditional. In this rum, you can expect hints of pineapple, litchi skin, cacao and liquorice on the nose, while flashes of treacle, spun sugar, roast pineapple and jammy fruit should please your palate. copelandspirits.co.za 2. DIE WARM RASTA RUM De Vry Distillery’s Die Warm Rasta Rum is aged in a maturation cellar situated in the Free State farmlands. There, the combination of specially charred barrels and the area’s climate results in a unique molasses ferment that expresses notes of cigar smoke and oak,…