The Wadi: Pilgrimage of a Screen

Design in our studio rarely arrives quietly. It tends to show up after a long period of poking, questioning, pulling things apart and asking the same irritating question again and again: what happens if we try it this way instead?

The newly launched Wadi Screen is the result of that ongoing interrogation at TheUrbanative. If you follow our work you might remember the earlier Nasara Screens, which explored steel and cord weaving. Those pieces set the foundation. The Wadi Screen takes that language somewhere softer, introducing natural materials, sculptural wool textures and colour stained timber.

In other words, the familial resemblance is there. The personality has evolved.

The name Wadi comes from the Swahili word meaning valley. It first surfaced during an earlier collaboration with Something Good Studio for their Kusafiri knitwear collection. At the time we were exploring ideas of landscape, movement and travel. The word lingered in the studio long after the project, and quietly waited for the right piece to attach itself to.

Apparently that moment was a screen.

And the name makes sense. Like a valley, the piece holds depth and layers. At its centre sits a woven wool panel where natural and coloured yarns build sculptural reliefs across the surface. As light shifts throughout the day the textures change, creating small ridges and valleys of fibre. It begins to feel less like a flat surface and more like a small landscape held inside a frame.

Weaving remains central to the piece even as the material language continues to evolve. The wool panel was produced in collaboration with Grey Room, using wool supplied by Weluka. Together we explored how weaving could move beyond a flat textile surface into something more sculptural. Fibres gather, layer and build texture across the panel, creating a tactile terrain that feels both soft and structured.

Of course we could not completely abandon our love of structure. The woven panel sits inside a steel frame that traces the form with precision. The frame establishes rhythm and order, woven in our familiar materials, while the wool introduces softness and movement within it. Think of it as the architectural skeleton holding the landscape together.

The Wadi Screen made its first public appearance at Cape Town Furniture Week, where it was selected as a finalist for the CTFW x VISI Prize. For a piece that began as a series of studio experiments, that moment felt like a meaningful milestone in its journey.

At the base of the screen, timber introduces warmth and grounding. The base is made from kiaat timber, stained in a deep ruby rose red. Kiaat felt like the obvious choice. Its natural red undertones carry the colour beautifully. It also happens to be the first timber we ever worked with. There was a healthy stack of it in the factory and, after sampling several other solid timbers, we were reminded why we fell for it in the first place.

The Wadi Screen forms part of a broader evolution within our making practice. What began years ago with cord weaving in the Nasara Screens now continues through wool. Materials change. Techniques shift. New textures emerge.

The form remains recognisable, yet each iteration reveals something different.

Rather like a landscape shaped slowly over time.

Our work continues to evolve through material, craft and technology. Old knowledge meets new tools. Familiar forms are revisited. Ideas return wearing slightly different clothes.

At TheUrbanative, design rarely stands still. It prefers to wander, explore and occasionally turn into a valley.