Apax Design was selected to design the Sanlam Private Wealth Press Lounge for the Design Joburg 2019 show. This annual event, hosted in the African design hub of Johannesburg Sandton city’s Convention centre, attracts thousands of design hungry enthusiasts and elite. It was no unusual job for us to get creative and showcase a tasteful curation of designed items.
Apax Director Rudolph Jordaan set the tone for an home office culture of the future (pre-Covid), by creating a comfortable compact lounge/office that is layered with colour and texture.
“Office workers need to be stimulated in every environment they spend time in. The more comfortable a space, the more productive and creative problem solvers they will become.” It was no wonder the space became a creative hub when the design show press including sponsor magazine Home & Garden set up station here to complete daily tasks and mingle with co-workers.
The space was further layered with indoor plants, metals, soft fabrics, semi transparent room dividers and some quirk with a pink glass accent in a custom designed oak, brass & linen room divider.
An Emma Nourse linen canvas, layered in oil paint underneath a clear acrylic waterfall covered encasement, was the conversation starter of passerby. This refreshing boardroom table was admired for the approach of functional art in an interior designed office environment. “Emma’s artwork set the tone for what boardrooms should be all about – Flow of creativity and flow of focussed harmony.”
The Apax Design collab with Ernst H resulted in sculptural brass wall lighting and large African inspired mirrors named Malkia & Mfalme or Queen & King in Swahili by Romano Cardinal for Apax. These designs added to the vibrancy of the space that will stay with many for long.
Luxury European design brand Ligne Roset’s stocked Togo Sofa by designer Michel Ducaroy was a firm favourite with many. “It’s shape is supportive of a natural body shape and you can easily fall down with your laptop on a Oda Table while sipping on a coffee”. When you need filing done you can store it in a classy white Christian Werner Everywhere cupboard.
