Green Is Not A Colour At The Design Assemblage This March

Green Is Not A Colour is the theme for March’s talks at The Design Assemblage (TDA), Johannesburg’s stimulating and inspiring design district based in Illovo. Speakers include architect Grahame Cruickshanks, designer Tyler Yeo, property analyst Craig Smith, acoustics and audio-visual strategies consulting engineer Ivan Lin and advertising agency boss and author Pepe Marais.

TDA has created a big buzz in the design community thanks to its array of hugely popular expert lectures, workshops and masterclasses which are open to the public and free of charge. In March TDA will launch its first book club which will now become a regular feature four times a year!

First up – on Thursday, March 5, at 11h00 – is Grahame Cruickshanks from the Green Building Council of South Africa who will be talking about Net Zero Buildings.

Grahame_Cruikshanks

A professional architect and Green Star SA accredited professional, Cruickshanks has 20 years’ experience in the design and construction industry with a focus on green buildings. He has worked on a variety of Green Star SA and BREEAM certified projects and other building projects in South Africa, Singapore and the UK. He now leads market engagement for Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).

Cruickshanks believes that appropriately designed and constructed buildings have a vital role to play in the development of sustainable built environments: “The design construction, operation and quality of the spaces in which people live, work and play, have significant financial, social and environmental impact. The development of built environments which are truly sustainable is an ambitious and long-term goal which I feel must be pursued in order to address the imbalances we currently see in our planet’s ecosystems and economies.”

On Tuesday, March 10, at 11h00, designer, writer, and entrepreneur Tyler Yeo will be discussing Myths of Creativity: How to Make Your Creativity Suck Less, and Why It Matters.

Tyler Yeo

Having started his career as a freelance graphic designer, Yeo now spends as much time thinking and writing about the creative process as actually creating stuff, with the aim of helping other people create better.

After graduating from architecture school Yeo became a feature writer and photographer for a magazine while also researching a thesis exploring creativity and Buddhism. Being selected as one of Design Indaba’s Emerging Creatives kicked off his next career chapter, leading to several media features and a job as a junior designer at a start-up creative agency. He ultimately became design director, working with high profile corporate clients on socially impactful projects using communication design, user experience design, identity design, and strategy. He now runs a bookbinding and print design business with the aim of championing sustainable, meaningful creativity. 

Says Yeo: “You’ll never compete with the natural-born creatives, your ideas are unoriginal, your work is never as good as you imagined, your ideas usually aren’t that good, and you don’t look like any of the other creatives. All of these might be true, but does that mean you aren’t creative? This talk explores five major misconceptions about creative thinking. You won’t find shortcuts, quick tips, or easy fixes — only truths so that you can put in the hard work needed to become a better maker of things — if you’re up for the challenge.”

CoreNet Global will be hosting a networking event on Thursday, March 12, at 17h30 where Anchor Capital’s Craig Smith will give an overview of the South African property market. CoreNet Global is an American non-profit corporate real estate association which represents executives in 50 countries who manage the real estate assets of large corporations.

Ivan Lin – an acoustics and audio-visual strategies consulting engineer – will be discussing Colour of Sound: Interior design and Psychoacoustics on Thursday, March 19, at 15h00. Lin heads up Linspace, consulting in the field of architectural acoustics, audio-visual and space enabling. Lin has been a key collaborator on the drafting of Green Building Council SA’s various acoustics standards and performance tools.

Ivan Lin

Pepe Marais will be appearing at the TDA Book Club launch on Wednesday, March 25, at 18h00 where he will discuss his book Growing Greatness. It will also be on sale with the author happy to sign copies.

Pepe Marais

Says Marais: “The topic will be what is at the core of my book – personal purpose. Why do we exist as people and as businesses?”

Marais is the founding partner and Group Chief Creative Officer of Joe Public United. Joe Public United is a 100% locally owned, purpose-driven brand and communications group, which exists for the growth of its people, clients and country, and is currently ranked as the number one creative agency on the African continent.

Marais has been the recipient of numerous local and international industry awards, was ranked as the number one creative leader by the industry’s Loerie Awards in 2018 and voted by marketers as the ‘Most Admired Industry Professional’ in South Africa.

The Design Assemblage is situated at 196 Oxford Road in Illovo.

Details of further March talks and workshops will be announced shortly. Reserve your free seat at www.thedesignassemblage.com