Haldane Martin Launches Scaffold Tables and SuperRational Modular Sofa Collection

After three decades of shaping Cape Town’s design landscape with nature-inspired, sensuous forms, Haldane Martin turns decisively toward the built environment. His latest releases – the Scaffold Occasional Tables and SuperRational Modular Sofa Collection – mark a confident shift into graphic territory, where grids, structure and urban memory take centre stage.

Rooted in 70s and 80s nostalgia, the collections draw on personal references: a yellow gridded wallpaper chosen in childhood, the neon-blue digital matrices of Tron, the weight of Brutalist architecture and the playful geometry of the Memphis movement. Yet these influences are distilled rather than literal. Haldane strips each piece back to rational frameworks, allowing line, plane and proportion to do the talking.

The Scaffold tables hint at bamboo construction scaffolding, their powder-coated stainless steel rods forming a three-dimensional Cartesian matrix. Weather-resistant and rust-proof, they introduce a bold, architectural rhythm to outdoor settings; graphic yet enduring.

The SuperRational sofas, by contrast, balance structure with softness. Open stainless steel grid frames dematerialise the base, elevating generously upholstered, memory-foam seating finished with subtle retro piping. Modular by design, the collection encourages social configurations, from sunken conversation pits to relaxed poolside gatherings, with ottomans and daybeds acting as adaptable building blocks.

“Brutalism is raising its head again,” Haldane notes, describing the collections as a playful take on solid structures. The result is furniture that feels both rational and relaxed, shaped by childhood fascinations, informed by architecture, and designed for connection in contemporary outdoor life.