The Inside Story: Park Hyatt Johannesburg x Evolution With founder Amanda du Plessis

Collaboration Rooted in Story. At the newly opened Park Hyatt Johannesburg, heritage, narrative and design converge.

Interior designer Stephen Falke partnered with Evolution Product to create spaces that feel personal and collected, layered with South African craftsmanship, history, and heart.

Each room tells its own story through textiles and wall art by Evolution, celebrating our country’s diverse biospheres, from Sea Algae to Forest, Safari, Water Lily, and Leaves.

We sat down to ask our founder, Amanda, to tell us more...

You and Stephen have worked together on several projects, including the Drostdy in Graaff-Reinet. How would you describe the way your collaboration has evolved over time?

Stephen has a very strong design theme in each of his projects. Bringing in our well-researched local narratives and visuals adds layering and relevance to his spaces, and together it creates a balance between concept and context.

The Park Hyatt brief was centred on the idea of a well-travelled couple curating discoveries from across South Africa. How did you interpret this narrative through Evolution’s textiles and wall art?

The initial brief was that the smallest of the Park Hyatt hotels in the world needed to look like a well-travelled couple’s home — a couple who collected visual references of their journeys. With a fast turnaround, we worked with themes already present in our collections and wove them into a narrative of travel. From our Protector of the Planet range celebrating sea algae, to the significance of grasses, the beauty of ferns, and heritage visuals inspired by herbarium finds, each piece built the story.

Each room at the Park Hyatt celebrates a different biosphere, from Sea Algae to Forest. Could you share how Evolution’s designs were tailored to reflect these unique themes?

We scaled our designs to fit each room’s allocated space, creating bespoke sizes and colourways to optimise impact and practicality. The thirty rooms were divided into five themes, ensuring variety in the textiles used across the hotel.

This collaboration places Evolution’s work on an international hospitality stage. What does it mean to you, personally and professionally, to see your pieces woven into the identity of such a globally recognised brand?

We are honoured and thankful that the Hyatt group allowed us to contribute. Personally, I am deeply proud of our local manufacturers, framers, weavers, and crafters who brought these designs to life. Professionally, it’s encouraging to see the appetite for locally rooted design narratives on a global stage.

Looking ahead, how do you see projects like this shaping Evolution’s role in the intersection of design, heritage, and global hospitality?

We love the way Stephen utilised our designs, themes, and colours in this space. Working with experienced designers who are trusted by their clients creates opportunities to go beyond the initial brief. We would love to expand into projects where heritage, biospheres, and people are honoured and celebrated. South Africa is full of stories waiting to be told, and we are committed to bringing them forward through design.

SEE MORE AND READ THE FULL Park Hyatt Johannesburg STORY