Itawuli by MungoMungo's flat-weave towels, made on antique looms in Plettenberg Bay, have traditionally reflected a strong British influence. But they've taken a detour with their new diamond weave towels in colorways like mulberry with partridge brown, hot orange, and forest green. While the pattern has an echo of traditional shweshwe fabric from the Eastern Cape, the contrasting stripe is more typical of Basutu blankets. Made of 100% cotton from Swaziland.

Dave Hakkens onstge at Design Indaba. Image courtesy of Design Indaba.

Ian Murchison, co-founder of the Federal, onstage at Design Indaba. Image courtesy of Design Indaba.

Teshia Treuhaft addresses the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town on February 26. Photo courtesy of Design Indaba.

Benjamin Hubert, Layer British industrial designer Benjamin Hubert walked the audience through the time and energy it takes to design an original object, then unveiled a data-driven plan to drastically cut waste. Arguing that we have more than enough chairs, tables, and sofas already, he suggested that designers put some of their resources toward more socially conscious work. Layer, for instance, recently redesigned charity donation cups for businesses in England, driving an 80 percent uptick in contributions.

Yogita Agrawal, Yogita Agrawal Design Recent Parsons graduate Yogita Agrawal electrified attendees with Jhoule, a wearable task light that is motion-powered. Made for rural communities in India, where people walk an average of 1-2 hours every day on unlit streets, the device underwent a redesign after an unsuccessful first launch to resemble traditional jewelry.

Christian Benimana, MASS Studio Rwanda The audacity of Rwandan-born architect Christian Benimana's mission—to uplift working conditions and infrastructure in the developing world—is matched by his personal biography. Inspired by design early on in life, Benimana was crestfallen to learn his country had no formal architecture schools, so he relocated to Shanghai, taught himself Mandarin, and put himself through a program there. Now, as part of MASS Studio, he has returned to Rwanda, where he designs social infrastructure with a "lo-fab" approach, using local designers and materials to swell the economy. "Who builds something is just as important as how it's built," he noted.

Jaime Hayon, Hayon Studio Spain's Jaime Hayon explored how, even after countless big-name collaborations, he continues to find fresh ways to make high-design fun. "When you think you know it all, the best place is to start from zero again," said Hayon, who then shared the unusual inspiration behind some of his most famous pieces. His Ro chair for Fritz Hansen was inspired by penguins and his Milá chair for Magis is meant to evoke a pineapple.

Paloma Strelitz and James Binning, Assemble Studio Representing the young London collective Assemble, Paloma Strelitz and James Binning shared why it's important to be imaginative about what neglected urban spaces can be redeemed, showcasing work in former gas stations and underpasses. The pair's advice for designers just starting out: "Self-initiate projects, [or risk] coming to the table too late to ask the big questions."

“One of the goals of Zenkaya was to create employment in a country crippled by [an unemployment rate of over 25 percent],” explains the architect, who likes to call himself a social entrepreneur.

The presentation by Jongerius was one of the very first to kick off the list of acclaimed speakers appearing at Design Indaba this week. We’ll be reporting on the highlights as they unfold—be sure to check back. Last words from Jongerius: “Products must communicate more than just the ‘new’’.

Alfredo Brillembourg, Urban-Think Tank American-born architect Alfredo Brillembourg, who founded Urban-Think Tank in Venezuela, invigorated the crowd at the end of the first day with a sweeping vision for a new urbanism in the developing world. Summarizing the state of city planning in Africa at the outset ("Informality is the new normality"), he proceeded to lambaste earlier generations of architects for their complicity in perpetuating segregation and inequality, before calling for a more ethical and free-thinking practice built from the bottom-up.

Sou Fujimoto, Sou Fujimoto Architects Internationally recognized Tokyo architect Sou Fujimoto presented on the ideal balance of indoor and outdoor, private and public, in the home. "Good architecture," he noted, "lets people choose between gradations [of nature] for infinite functions." Here, he shares his mind-bending 2013 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, made of delicate steel bars.

Erik Kessels, KesselsKramer Through the Dutch creative agency he helped found, Erik Kessels has made a name for himself zig-zagging around norms and expectations in advertising. He once rebranded a budget Amsterdam inn as "the worst hotel in the world" to distinguish it from other prim hospitality ads, a risky campaign that led to the business's international expansion. Kessels told Design Indaba he plumbs misdirection and pretzel logic to make his most memorable work.

Thomas Chapman, Local Studio Architect Thomas Chapman is inspired by the conviction that South Africans must "reknit" historically segregated communities using public space. To stifle popular demonstrations, the apartheid-era government restricted where assembly halls could be built, a legacy that has left the nation a paucity of community hubs. Local Studio recasts disused infrastructure in Johannesburg, such as a former German consulate building, as affordable housing, cultural centers, and parks.

The Brooklyn Expo Center is the show's new home.

HAY Expo Chair by KiBiSi. Designed in 2009 for the Danish EXPO Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. In stores in 2010. Photo courtesy of KiBiSi

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

Black and white kitchen cabinets painted with a triangular pattern add a whimsical touch to this funky kitchen.

Of the Caesarstone counter, which extends to a built-in steel dining table with a detachable leaf, he says, “The total length is just over 16 feet, which gives it a really beautiful, sleek proportion.” Chairs are from IKEA.

Along with COBE Architects and Grontmij Engineering Consultancy, Designit won the competition to create Denmark’s pavilion for Expo 2012 in South Korea. Titled Horizon, the pavilion was inspired by the ocean and Denmark's coastline. The idea was to present Denmark as a world leader in innovation and new technologies. Image courtesy of Designit.

Melle Smets and Joost van Onna worked with the local craftspeople to craft a special car, the SMATI Turtle 1, that was featured as part of Design Indaba Expo’s "Africa is Now" exhibition.

Pioneered by Design Partnership, the South African restaurant chain Hungry Lion has been making inroads into the rest of the African continent, opening this flagship store in Angola after a significant revamp of the company's corporate image.

Acoustics were the most challenging aspect of the project. "We met with many recording studios and found that there really is no one way to design recording spaces," Jackson says. "Everything from the proportion and form of the space to the materials and details all effect acoustic performance. We designed the recording spaces based on the ratio of the golden section 1:1.61 and angled walls to eliminate reflections. All of the windows needed to be two layers of glass with different thickness and a minimum two-inch airspace for soundproofing."

Wood salvaged from the original house covers the staircase. "It took a bit of effort to surgically deconstruct the house to save as much material as we could and clean it up for reuse," Jackson says. "I think it’s inspiring for the guests to the Collaboratory to know that the fireplace is in the exact same location, and consists of the original brick, as the original house, so that they can experience a space that’s still evocative of the home in which Memphis Slim lived." ViktorHall Construction carried out the deconstruction.

Speaking of Nathalie du Pasquier, the Memphis group was well-represented by a special retrospective furniture exhibition at Fondazione Stelline; elsewhere, du Pasquier was the subject of an installation by Disegno magazine.

Architect Jason Jackson recast the Memphis, Tennessee, home of blues musician John Len Chatman into a music collaboratory—a place equipped for career counseling, recording, workshops, and community events.

Before the Memphis Music Magnet Program's adaptive reuse project, John Len Chatman's house was decaying on its lot. Charlie Santo, head of the Memphis Music Magnet, has been working to revive the Soulsville neighborhood in which the house is situated by forging a creative hub tied to its cultural legacy. "In this city, the music community has always been as important as the music business, and music has often existed at the nexus of creativity, diversity, and place-making," Santo says. "Soulsville USA embodies that heritage and our work there seeks to build on existing arts assets in a neighborhood that is truly reflective of Memphis.”

The Memphis design retrospective exhibition at Corso Magenta.

Molded plastic shell chairs and a tulip table outfit one of the gathering spaces.

The Memphis Slim Collaboratory is divided into two floors. In renovating the space, Jackson kept the original footprint of part of the house and created a modern addition.

The new design is clad in cedar and corrugated metal. The front porch is a key space as it "engages the street and creates a public space that everyone can take ownership of," Jackson says. "Simultaneously we opened up the front elevation to create views into the recording spaces from the exterior, welcoming in the community."

"To reflect the character of the house, we rebuilt the two story portion to the exact dimensions of the original home as well as the interior stair and fireplace," Jackson says. "The single story recording studio portion that extends to the back is a completely new addition, so we wanted a material that was vernacular to the neighborhood but would represent the new nature of the facility; therefore, the corrugated metal."

The Globe pendants hanging in the stairwell are from West Elm.

Totem Group Light by Robert Lewis ($850 from totokaelo.com).

A tall custom niche displays various tabletop items Sottsass designed for the brands Habitat, Memphis, Egizia, and Anthologie Quartett.