Mizzi Studio is honoured to announce that our latest project - The Serpentine Cafe - has been granted planning permission by Westminster Council. Commissioned by artisan coffee brand Colicci, the structure's fantastical sweeping brass canopy will sit proudly on its prestigious site in Hyde Park, minutes away from some of London's most remarkable architectural hot spots - The Serpentine Pavilion and Zaha Hadid's Serpentine Sackler gallery. We are proud to be amongst such influential company and we hope it will be a source of inspiration and joy for everyone who loves London's stunning Royal Parks.

“Our design for the Serpentine Cafe took inspiration from the Serpentine lake itself – its name and meandering shape – and infused those influences with new levels of movement and texture. We created heightened drama by integrating the sweeping motion of a stingray’s flight into the canopy. The form of the roof was designed to reach its climactic point while hovering above the entrance – as though a zoomorphic cape had been pulled through the air over the entire cafe.” Jonathan Mizzi

Read more about the Serpentine Cafe project on Dezeen.

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Mizzi Studio have designed a Secret Garden for fashion design label Saloni in India on the grounds of the Raas Devigarh Palace hotel, in celebration of the Holi Festival and the launch of fashion designer’s latest capsule collection. Using local materials the studio has married traditional Indian craft with their signature sculptural forms. 

Director Jonathan Mizzi was approached by London-based contemporary womenswear designer, Lodha Saloni, to create a unique space that would celebrate vernacular Indian design through a contemporary re-invention. Mizzi Studio’s response was a Secret Garden made up of a series of mud-huts, stalls, and platforms that joined together to form a experiential, undulating built terrain. The structures were constructed using different traditional techniques, built by local craftspeople working in tandem on site with Mizzi Studio’s remote team. The components of the Garden were crafted out of a weaved structure made from local plant stalks called aahkdo and khemp.

The majority of the structures were then plastered in mud and transformed into colourful masses adorned with painted artwork by local artisans. The site for the Garden is located on a descent from Rajasthan’s Devigargh Palace – voted one of the worlds best spas by Conde Nast Traveller. Mizzi Studio used the space to create a playful retreat where guests could partake in the traditional Holi Festival activities – a Hindu spring feast known as the “festival of colours” which marks the arrival of spring. 

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Jonathan Mizzi has created Phalice – a limited edition sculpture commissioned by Elephant Family, founded by Mark Shand. Phalice will be unveiled at a private viewing of ‘Mark Shand’s Adventures and Curiosities’ at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery, Saville Row, next Thursday.  

Jonathan Mizzi was approached by Elephant Family, a charity founded by the late Mark Shand following his journeys across India with a street elephant named Tara – to create a unique phallic sculpture for Mark’s personal collection of fertility symbols. A new exhibition will be opened this week to celebrate the legacy of Shand’s journey, his foundation of the charity, as well as the various personal treasures he picked up during his travels. The show is curated by his daughter, Ayesha Shand, and features 101 fertility symbols reimagined by contemporary artists and inspired by the founder’s original collection.

Mizzi is honoured and delighted to contribute his own sculpture, Phalice, to this fascinating and prestigious collection. “This project has been a joy to work on," Jonathan said. "Aside from being given an opportunity to collaborate with the brilliant Elephant Family, I was thrilled to be able to create a unqiue sculpture that celebrates both masculinity, femininity, and – of course – the wonder of fertility. I’m also deeply honoured to be exhibiting alongside this esteemed group of artists in what will be a truly stunning exhibition”.

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November couldn't have ended on a better note as our team were honoured to be named FX International Breakthrough Talent last week during the glittering awards ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, London. We were humbled to be present amongst a VIP audience of over 1,400 of the world’s leading architects and interior designers, and to be competing against peer studios we truly admire. With past winners including huge talents such as Christopher Jenner and Dominic Harris of Cinimod Studio, we regard this accolade as an enormous honour and a professional nod to our ongoing work. 

“To make the shortlist was surprise enough, but to win really is the pinnacle of my career to date," Director Jonathan Mizzi said. "It might be my name on the door, but I really couldn’t have achieved this without the support of my team. I can’t thank them enough, and I can't wait to move into the new year with new found energy and excitement for what's yet to come".

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