The Design Assemblage

Johannesburg has a brand new and exciting design district workspace with the launch of The Design Assemblage.

While Kramerville is now recognised as the city’s residential design district, this Illovo based space (at Oxford Manor, 196 Oxford Road) will focus on commercial, corporate and office design.

Attending the recently held launch was acclaimed German industrial designer and architect Stefan Brodbeck, Steelcase global account manager Mickael Locoh from the US and award-winning South African architect and urban designer Pierre Swanepoel.

Mickael Locoh

Pierre Swanepoel.j

According to curator Nikki Wilsworth, The Design Assemblage is a place where the creators of the workspace of the future can convene, meet, collaborate, inspire, learn, plan, build and play.

TDA curator Nikki Wilsworth

Says Wilsworth: “It’s a space that we hope will inspire creativity and encourage conversation; a space for knowledge share, business, intellectual expansion and meetings for enthusiasts and trailblazers and those immersed in the field of design.”

The beautifully appointed TDA venue at 196 Oxford Road is set to host a programme of inspirational, transformational, topical events and activities for the design community, made up of expert lectures, workshops and masterclasses. These will take place on a weekly basis and will be free of charge.

Edward-Chamberlain-Bell-JoziStyle

In addition, Wilsworth sees the space as being used for other, more convivial and informal creative purposes, such as wine tastings, exhibitions and installations, book and product launches and regular coffee mornings.

Wilsworth’s aim is that The Design Assemblage – which is located in an office complex that houses Angel Shack, Inspiration Office and Chair Club showrooms in Illovo – acts as a catalyst to bring together the change-makers in design and to instigate creativity for designing the future way of living.

“Through our programme of events and the bringing together of people, we want to initiate a creative clash of different design disciplines. We hope that the space we have devised instigates and encourages this. We will facilitate the opportunity for people to meet, network and create future opportunities,” Wilsworth adds.

The first masterclass in this new space kicked off on Tuesday, July 30 presented by SJ Spiekhout, who spoke about New Work, New Rules, in which he discussed how to create spaces that give today’s revolutionaries what they expect and need to excel at work.

Spiekhout is well qualified in the design field, working for US-based Steelcase, the largest office furniture manufacturer in the world that produces office furniture and architectural and technology products for office environments and the education, health care and retail industries.

Other events planned for TDA space in August include:

Dynamic Seating – is sitting the new smoking? – Tuesday, August 13 at 11:00. Presented by Monja Boonzaier, owner of Beautiful Mind Studio
Angel Shack Factory Tour on Wednesday, August 14 at 10:00.
Business of Design with Brian Steinhobel – on Thursday, August 22 at 15:00. Steinhobel is the founder of Steinhobel Design, an industrial design and product development consultancy.

Also happening on a weekly basis will be Fika mornings which will take place on Wednesdays from 08:30 to 11:00. Fika is a Swedish word for “coffee break” and, for these occasions, TDA is partnering with various local artisanal coffee roasters and inviting designers to pop in, pause, meet, greet, chat, collaborate, network and of course drink good coffee and go.