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Anselm Croze: Safari Park Hotel 

ANSELM CROZE STUDIO

Kitengela Commercial Design

Commissioned by a long term client/patron of Anselm Croze - who has recently embarked on a facelift of the Safari Park Hotel on Thika Rd., Nairobi.
 
The mosaic is outside the hotel discotheque, and covers 250 square metres in total. All the glass is hand made in Anselm’s studio, by free casting disks, blowing plates and optic bubbles (to cut) and making paperweights, knobs and beads for 3D detail.
 

Posted 24 February 2016

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Our main elements were a 12cm disk cut into quarters. All the glass was tinted with a reflective backing. We attached it to the wall with Sikaflex(TM), and then used a Turkish black waterproof grout to fill the gaps. About 70,000 pieces in total, it took 4 months from start to finish.
 
The team consisted of four of my employees (Shem - project manager, Grishon, Ngige and Bryan) on site, assisted by two locally sourced helpers. We had two ladies applying the tint at the studio, and the glass making team (8 guys) churning out whatever we needed.

The concept is of a deconstructed disco ball galaxy, and the next stage of the project involves the chromatic theme - high powered LED bars with programmable colours so that we can get a colour wash of any shade we like over the entire piece. The name of the club, “SYZYGY", will be further ‘drawn’ onto the facade with a laser.
 
All design, supervision and production by Anselm and his team.
All glass is made from recycled window glass, from a unique furnace fired by steam injected used engine oil. Eco-Happy!

Anselm Croze Studio team members Shem - project manager, Grishon, Ngige and Bryan at work

Safari Park Hotel on Thika Rd., Nairobi
Built in 1974, mosaic done 2015/2016
Design by Anselm Croze
Material Recycled blown and coasted glass
Photographer Anselm Croze

ANSELM CROZE has decades of experience working with architects, interior and exterior designers. He creates architectural accents, enhancing space with the use of light& recycled handmade eco-chic products. His portfolio is kaleidoscopic - ranging from individual, custom made pieces to giant public space installations.
With a core discipline of blown glass, there are several different studios under his creative umbrella.
 

Safari Park Hotel 

Alselm Croze


As a child of an American zoologist Harvey Croze, and an artist who worked with stained glass, Nani Croze, Anselm Croze was apprenticed to master glass blowers in France and the Netherlands. Directly after this apprenticeship he returned at the beginning of the 90 's back to East Africa. Anselm then decided to explore further his calling in the glass blowing. "I had this experience where happiness and the revolutionary thinking of excellent teachers coincided on a magical way. And when I returned home, I met Mikko Merikallio, a Finnish glass blower who is also a furnace builder and inventor, " Anselm recalls himself. "He was very, very good in the relevant technology that we needed to start. So we made a space in Kitengala glass factory and we started to build. Because we had no electricity, we had to have our own energy supply, " he continues. "So Mikko helped us with installing this ¬ steam injection system that used recycled machine oil as energy and to melt our material. Energy-saving processes as these were important to us. Even at that time we wanted to have a good working relationship with the environment. " (from Fjoezzz 3/20111)

For their projects they use:
-DALLE DE VERRE
Created with 20mm thick chunky lass tiles (recycled from bottles and scrap windows) arranged within a concrete matrix. Panels of dalle de verre can be combined into vast walls, surfaces or outside furniture.
Custom slabs made from molten glass crafted in Anselm’s studios are arranged in a steel reinforced frame (providing built in security), and casted with various coloured cements into dreamlike sheets of light.

-BLOWN GLASS
A Kenyan approach to an antique craft, the mark of the artisans working at Anselm’s studios is visible in every object.
Hand gathered from a pool of liquid glass, the possibility of the productive process is endless. Sculpted heavy transparent elements, fragile tendrils, coloured and iridescent bubbles, natural and fantastic forms.

-WROUGHT IRON & GLASS
Traditional methods of wrought iron combined with glass elements or dalle de verre make a unique product with myriad applications.
Chairs, swings, stools, countertops; dining, bar and coffee tables, fire-pits, room dividers and shelves are all part of their repertoire.
A full metal workshop enables Anselm’s studios to customize from scratch all types of products; from chandeliers, wall, floor and ceiling, lights to bespoke furniture, room dividers or accent windows.

-PREFABRICATED MURALS
Wall coverings in 2 & 3D in mixed media of wood, glass, paint and metal. Either in the form of appliqué sections to walls or windows, or hundreds of square metres of fully prefabricated murals.
 
 

Anselm Croze: chandeliers

Anseln Croze

His innovative multimedia, prefabricated mosaics give designers the opportunity to work with the studio off-site, allowing changes or modifications to be made before almost instantaneous installation.
With a professional approach to innovation, practicality and cost, Anselm personally strives to deliver satisfaction within your budget.
 
Over the years, Anselm has worked with hoteliers, restaurateurs, Interior decorators
and head chefs designing specialist requirements to the hospitality industry.
From bespoke signature pieces to entire collections of tableware – individual crafted
and unique to your property.
Limited only by the imagination. Funky fencing, garden jewellery, flat or 3D glass and cement sculpture, signage and outside lighting are just the tip of the artistic iceberg available from Anselm’s studios.

Buy / Visit
We have two shops located in Nairobi at the Junction and Village Market shopping malls, and a wholesale outlet at the studio – just outside the city on the edge of the Nairobi National Park. We have just spent 4 months filling up the bad bits of our road – so are happy to announce that no 4WD is needed at the moment. DON'T let your driver take you to Kitengela Town, we are on the Ongata Rongai side.
 
Printable Map to Kitengela Hot Glass Studios from Nairobi
 
Contact +254 722 523284
anselm@kitengela.com
 
Glass blowing demonstrations at the studio continuously from:
9am – 12pm & 1pm – 4pm Tuesday to Saturday,
Sunday demos 9am – 1pm, 
Monday demos 8am – 12pm.

www.kitengela.com

Click here to download the file "Anselms_Commercial_Design_Brochure.pdf".
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