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Design capital of South Africa
Design in Cape Town
Zulu Mama Chair by Haldane Martin
© VISI Magazine
Did you know?
Contemporary South African furniture designer, Haldane Martin, won the prestigious SABS DISA award for his innovative Zulu Mama Chair in 2007.
Design in Cape Town is varied and widespread. From advertising to the arts, some of the country's most creative people, including a number of influential furniture designers, choose to live and create in Cape Town.
Cape Town's status as South Africa's design capital was confirmed in mid-2011 when it became one of 3 cities to be shortlisted for the title of World Design Capital in 2014.
Adjoining the Cape Town CBD, the narrow streets and Victorian buildings of the De Waterkant area is where it all started. Many designers still have their studios in this picturesque old part of the city. The Cape Quarter is an open air shopping mall. Here where visitors can enjoy a snapshot of the best in local and international design.
In Cape Town, design styles fall into several different 'schools'. On the Atlantic seaboard, architect Stefan Antoni and his firm Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects, have captured the elegant and opulent lifestyles of the rich and famous who live and holiday in Clifton and Fresnaye. The sophisticated Stefan Antoni look is now available to anyone at his shop in Gardens, called Okha.
In recent years, Cape Town designers have set up shop in unlikely locations. Woodstock, a former warehousing and low-cost housing district, is now home to Cape Town's most innovative designers and gallery owners.
Cape Town has also seen a massive revival of modern designs as well as the 'upcycling' of vintage furniture, with a touch of contemporary style.
Certain Cape Town designers have seen their work recognised internationally. Heath Nash's recycled plastic pendant light, Gregor Jenkin's mild-steel Cape Table, and Haldane Martin's Zulu Mama chair are but some of the city's noted designs that are sold in design emporiums around the world.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Heath Nash
2 Mountain Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0)21 447 5757
Okha
Shop 120&121 Level 1, New Cape Quarter, 27 Somerset Road, Green Point.
Tel: +27 (0)21 419 7003
Haldane Martin
12 Aberdeen Street, cnr Dickinson Street, Woodstock, Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0)21 448 0999
Gregor Jenkin Studio
1 Argyle Street, Woodstock, Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0)21 424 1840
What's happening
Every year the Design Indaba is held in Cape Town, attracting the country's best designers to showcase their creativity. The event takes place at the Cape Town Convention Centre at the end of February.