Visi

thing can be just a thing.

Pure functionality is its reason for being. Nothing wrong with that. But with some creative thought, the addition of considered aesthetics to basic useability transforms a thing into something more. That’s essentially what design is all about – and this issue is packed with examples. Micro-apartments… We’re seeing many of those sprouting up in cities here and around the globe, most with the generic look of the moment that usually involves plenty of 90º angles, along with swathes of glass and steel frontage. Now have a look at our Uxolo Apartments feature on page 134. Same basic concept;totally different approach. It’s bold and unlikely to be to everyone’s taste, but its designers have brought a unique and thoroughly modern Afro-futurist aesthetic to it that sets Uxolo apart. It’s also a great…

contributors

KLARA VAN WYNGAARDEN, INTERIOR STYLIST AND ART DIRECTOR Once it’s possible to travel internationally again, post-Covid, where is the first place you’ll be going? Iceland, to bask in the beauty of the Northern Lights in a glass hut, then dance at a music festival in Reykjavík. An experienced stylist who has contributed to VISI – and many other South African magazines – for years, Klara can dream up and create sets and experimental interiors for just about anything, from shoots to music events to property developers. She says she especially likes “hopping on planes, shooting lodges and being chased by elephants”. For this issue, she styled our shoot of the eye-catching building that houses the new Roger Ballen Centre for Photographic Arts (page 156). NAFISA AKABOR, FREELANCE TECHNOLOGY JOURNALIST Once it’s possible to travel internationally…

visi.co.za

HAVE YOU BROWSED VISI’S ONLINE SHOP? VISIT SHOP.VISI.CO.ZA TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T MISS OUT ON EXCLUSIVE OFFERINGS, FROM HANDMADE CERAMIC TABLEWARE TO ALL OUR LATEST VISI ISSUES, INCLUDING THE KITCHEN EDITION. WE ASKED YOU ONLINE: WHERE DO YOU MOST ENJOY SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS? 1095 of you took our poll to let us know. Here are the results: 38% In the garden 33% On the balcony/patio 15% In a hammock with a good book 14% Under an umbrella by the pool #READERLOVE If you’re enjoying the latest issue, we’d love for you to take a pic of your mag and share it with us. Simply tag VISI on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with your snap. We are excited to be featured in this month’s design issue in the fabulous@visi_mag. The shoot was super fun. Thank you to the legendary @dookphoto_…

natural worlds

This year, VISI’s visit to Maison&Objet was sadly not in Paris – our very own trends wizard Annemarie Meintjes’ favourite city in the world – but the editor-at-large was delighted to have been able to see more brands virtually than she usually does in person. “This is a visual tour of the favourite movements that will shape our lifestyle in 2021, an introduction to new brands to follow, and products to order online if you fall seriously in love,” says Annemarie. “But all in all, it’s about nature.” mom.maison-objet.com SEA THE MEDUSA RUG FEATURES THE MOST MYSTERIOUS LIVING BEINGS OF THE OCEAN. 1. Ethereal yet substantial, mouth-blown Eternal Snow glasses by Bela Silva for Serax have a genuinely magical appeal. serax.com 2. A hymn to the beauty of the marine world, Porifera is…

the influencers’ influences sumayya vally

When the announcement was made by London’s Serpentine Gallery on 10 February 2020, the moment was unprecedented: not only was Counterspace Studio’s Sumayya Vally the first-ever South African architect commissioned to design the gallery’s annual pavilion – a high-profile temporary structure that’s erected every summer in Kensington Gardens for four months – she was also the youngest. And now, for the first time in the exhibition’s 20-year history, where “starchitects” from Daniel Libeskind to Frank Gehry have created everything from interactive space eggs to amorphous, technicoloured mazes, Sumayya will also be the first architect to create a Serpentine pavilion in a post-Covid-19 world. Due to the pandemic, the pavilion will only open in June this year – in a slightly altered state, of course. “It was originally meant to be a gathering…

golden girls

BELMOND MOUNT NELSON, CAPE TOWN She first went pink to celebrate the end of World War I in 1918 – but these days, “The Nellie” has her own unique shade, fine-tuned to fade to an exact hue between paint jobs. In fact, there’s a lot about the old gal that’s one-of-a-kind. This includes the private, two-roomed Honeysuckle Cottage and the Planet Bar terrace – surely the most genteel spot in Cape Town for a discreet glass of bubbly. Make like John Lennon and Winston Churchill did, and bask in her rosy glow on a special SADC resident rate of R3 100 per room per night (including breakfast) until 20 December 2021. belmond.com | belmondmountnelsonhotel THE SAXON HOTEL, VILLAS & SPA, JOHANNESBURG It’s fitting that Joburg’s most iconic hotel only opened in 2000: the…