Steyn Viljoen
@steyn
Designer at CustomerOS. Gardener. Dad. Write at Viljoen Space about product, gardening and parenthood.
Steyn Viljoen
viljoen.space
Wilderness and Garden-Making, Post-Internet - Wonderground
wonderground.press
“I cannot say exactly how nature exerts its calming and organizing effects on our brains,” the poetic neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote in the dawning years of the twenty-first century, “but I have seen in my patients the restorative and healing powers of nature and gardens, even for those who are deeply disabled neurologically.”
Maria Popova • The Healing Power of Nature and Beauty: Florence Nightingale on Expediting Recovery from Illness and Burnout
The lush atmospheric setting Ocean stages invites the listener to build on it with even more connections and associations from their own experiences and to find their own feelings in the images that arise. Some might call this concatenation of elements a “vibe”: something that’s difficult to pin down precisely in words but that’s evoked by a loose... See more
People who are good at solving poorly defined problems don't get the same kind of kudos. They don’t get any special titles or clubs. There is no test they can take that will spit out a big, honking number that will make everybody respect them.
Adam Mastroianni • Why aren't smart people happier?
If you consider yourself a technologist, here’s your imperative: build things that are unabashedly, beautifully tangled into all else in life — people and relationships, politics, emotion and pain, understanding or the lack thereof, being alone, being together, homesickness, adventure, victory, loss. Build things that come alive, and drag... See more
Create things that come alive
We reject the shallow conformity of the engineering mindset, the stifling constraints of form following function, the illusion of minimalism, and the monotony of linearity.
In their place, we rediscover artistic principles rooted in tangibility, natural forms, the unicity of objects, and the texture and materiality of the physical world.
We impose... See more
In their place, we rediscover artistic principles rooted in tangibility, natural forms, the unicity of objects, and the texture and materiality of the physical world.
We impose... See more
Antoine Valot • Design Nouveau
previously, in garden- or landscape-making, beauty became a requirement, something that was imposed on the garden. Think of shaped hedges or plants selected solely for their colors.
Brian Sholis • The Frontier Interview—Terremoto
Live Fuller, Not Bigger
Live Fuller, Not Bigger
I aim to create singular, nature-immersive spaces that captivate and inspire.
But these are more than just spaces; they’re experiences . Where every moment and detail adds up to something immersive and breathtaking — like a great piece of art or music.
But these are more than just spaces; they’re experiences . Where every moment and detail adds up to something immersive and breathtaking — like a great piece of art or music.