Cape Town designed to win

Cape Town, October 27, 2011

The news that the City of Cape Town had beaten more than 50 cities around the world to be named the 2014 World Design Capital (WDC) was good news for Safmarine and its ‘Containers in the Community’ project, Velokhaya.

This is because, earlier this year, the Cape Town Design Network had asked design company, ThingKing (owned by Marc Nicholson and Lyall Sprong) to present the Velokhaya ‘case study’ to the World Design Capital judges while they were in Cape Town. The Network felt the Velokhaya revamp – undertaken by ThingKing with funding from Safmarine – was a perfect example of the City’s 2014 WDC’s bid theme, ‘Live Design, Transform life.’

Lea-Anne Moses Magerman, Safmarine's South Africa PR Manager, who appointed ThingKing as project managers for the Velokhaya revamp, explains more: “When we asked ThingKing to revamp the containers Safmarine had donated a few years ago, the intention was to transform the BMX Oval buildings into a vibrant landmark for the surrounding community and an inspirational space for the young Velokhaya cyclists, their families and supporters.

“ThingKing’s low-cost design solutions not only added value to the buildings but showed how we can use design and creativity to transform our living and working spaces, no matter how modest those spaces may be. In fact, we like to think the Velokhaya case study – as presented by ThingKing to the World Design Capital judges in July – played a role in Cape Town winning the bid!”

Click here to view ThingKing’s presentation to the World Design Capital judges on Youtube.

Click on the links below to read more: http://www.capetown2014.co.za/2011/10/stellenbosch-mayor-on-redefining-design/

http://www.worlddesigncapital.com