A Landmark Collaboration in Milan Design Week between Yardcom, SAOTA, and OKHA
Scape Magazine hosted a private, curated gathering at SAOTA’s Cape Town headquarters, a prelude to Milan Design Week and to a collaboration already in motion. The occasion marked the first expression of a partnership among Yardcom, SAOTA, and OKHA, which will soon take shape on the global stage at Salone del Mobile.Milano.
The room held a considered gathering of voices from design, media and politics, including the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, and the Italian Ambassador to South Africa, Alberto Vecchi, among other key players. All gathered, in the name of collaboration, to witness not simply a preview, but a positioning of this collaboration within a wider design conversation — how it sits in relation to current notions of outdoor living, and what it proposes.
Guests were offered an early look at SAOTA’s architectural pavilion for Yardcom, a luxury outdoor brand grounded in material innovation and luxury outdoor environments. In conversation, Stefan Antoni and Yardcom’s Damon Ma unpacked a partnership built on deep alignment and mutual thinking, where architectural, material technology, and lived experience converge.
The inclusion of OKHA
The inclusion of OKHA deepens this dialogue. Within the pavilion, the studio will debut Forma Lenta, a furniture collection by Adam Court that explores time, tactility, and the quiet relationship between craft and nature.
This moment carries particular weight: SAOTA prepares to become the first South African architecture firm represented on the Salone floor plan, a milestone that shifts not only visibility but also perception.
Throughout the afternoon, conversation circled back to collaboration, both as practice and as concept. What struck us about Stefan and Damon is their rare form of collaboration without the usual negotiation of difference. Their true alignment in vision has produced a pavilion of absolute clarity.
The 64th Edition of Salone del Mobile’s theme
Set against the 64th edition of Salone del Mobile’s theme, ‘A Matter of Salone’, the collaboration feels especially resonant. It speaks to material, to legacy, and to duration, how ideas are formed, tested, and ultimately carried forward.
The Cape Town gathering sets the trajectory for what follows in Milan, where the full pavilion, defined by layered thresholds, integrated planting, and an open roof plane, will be unveiled. On 21 April, Scape Magazine will curate and host a private aperitivo in Yardom’s pavilion including a roundtable which will extend the conversation around outdoor space and material innovation.
The week will culminate on 23 April with a celebration of SAOTA’s 40-year milestone at Terrazza Martini, overlooking the Milan skyline and marking the global launch of the 40th Anniversary.
Together, these moments signal a clear shift: a South African collaboration stepping into the global design arena not as observer, but as active contributor, shaping the architectural and design discourse.
