South African agency Lemon’s refined Johannesburg home unites design and production

Johannesburg’s Kramerville is one of the city’s hottest design districts, full of creative businesses and a thriving restaurant and bar scene; it is also where multidisciplinary design firm Lemon chose to set up its new home.
When Lemon co-founders Kevin and Ricky Frankental discovered a raw, industrial building there – a former hydraulic-parts factory – that had so far miraculously escaped regeneration, they instantly knew it was the perfect shell for their new headquarters. The stucture’s brutalist character was ideal for accommodating the Frankentals’ ambition to create a mixed-use hub that would combine offices with production facilities.
The three-storey 1500 sq m former factory was redesigned by Lemon in partnership with Hesse Kleinloog Studio to accommodate administrative areas, manufacturing, production, and design offices. With the studio’s work spanning from graphic to product design, flexible spaces that could accommodate multiple uses, from the traditional, office workspace to the messy, industrial and handcrafted, were a must.
Collaboration and cross-referencing between departments is invaluable in the practice’s daily operations and values, so ‘it was critical to have the entire operation under one roof’, explain Lemon. The new interior is now designed to encourage communication between the company’s 46 team members.
Not simply a workspace, the new headquarters also functions as a showcase of Lemon's work. The overall atmosphere is one of understated luxury, with rich fabrics, dark colours and refined, clean lines. ‘Our belief is that beautiful and functional spaces improve the quality of life’, they say. ‘When conceptualising our own space, we wanted to demonstrate how our products could be used in our “perfect world, a theatre for our work".’
The stylish new space houses both the studio’s professional team and their production facilities. Photography: Sarah de Pina
At the same time, the new headquarters also serve as a multi-purpose showroom, displaying the studio’s product range in a work environment. Photography: Sarah de Pina
Working with dark colours and a restrained material palette, Lemon and HK Studio created an atmosphere of understated luxury. Photography: Sarah de Pina
The team drew on their extensive experience in interior design to compose a space that reflects their brand’s vision and values. Photography: Sarah de Pina
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Lemon website and the HK Studio website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Extreme Cashmere reimagines retail with its new Amsterdam store: ‘You want to take your shoes off and stay’
Wallpaper* takes a tour of Extreme Cashmere’s new Amsterdam store, a space which reflects the label’s famed hospitality and unconventional approach to knitwear
By Jack Moss
-
Titanium watches are strong, light and enduring: here are some of the best
Brands including Bremont, Christopher Ward and Grand Seiko are exploring the possibilities of titanium watches
By Chris Hall
-
Warp Records announces its first event in over a decade at the Barbican
‘A Warp Happening,' landing 14 June, is guaranteed to be an epic day out
By Tianna Williams
-
Mountain House is a contemporary South African hillside retreat
Architect Chris van Niekerk has designed a private mountain house that nestles into its site, providing space, views, and a sense of time and evolution
By Jonathan Bell
-
Modernist Coromandel farmhouse refreshed by Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
An iconic Coromandel farmhouse is being reimagined by the South African architectural collaborative of Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
By Nick Compton
-
At home with Sumayya Vally
South African architect Sumayya Vally of Counterspace talks to us about Johannesburg, Geoffrey Bawa, and how if she weren't an architect, she'd be a storyteller
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Kamal Ranchod uses architectural drawing to decolonise Egyptian history
Our Next Generation 2022 showcase shines a light on 22 outstanding graduates from around the globe, in seven creative fields. Here, we profile Kamal Ranchod, from the University of Johannesburg’s Graduate School of Architecture, South Africa
By Nasra Abdullahi
-
Architects Directory 2020: Frankie Pappas, South Africa
Established in 2019 by a group of like-minded architects and designers in Johannesburg, Frankie Pappas is a ‘collection of brilliant young minds that do away with personal egotisms in order to better find remarkable solutions to fascinating problems,’ explain the founders – who prefer to remain anonymous. Following the mantra ‘wonderfully similar, beautifully different’, the collective has completed various residential projects, including the sculptural brick volumes of House of the Big Arch in Waterberg.
By Simon Mills
-
Noero Architects’ Cape Town beach house breaks the glass box mold
Cape Town-based architecture studio Noero Architects wrestled with strict planning regulations to craft an enviable beach house
By Elana Castle
-
Pretoria’s Javett Arts Centre takes its cues from the local culture and landscape
The University of Pretoria in South Africa gets new art centre, Javett UP, courtesy of Matthews + Associates Architects
By Sean O'Toole
-
Designer Porky Hefer’s debut architectural project hatches in Namibia
By Emma O'Kelly