Cape Town Spaces: Out of Office Hub

INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr

Out of Office Hub provides an off-site solution that ignites innovation and productivity in the comfort of locally designed furnishings. Owner Marina van der Westhuizen takes us through the concept of the Cape Town space.

Tell us more about the decor.

Minimalist with a twist, yet comfortable. The twist being the use of texture and a dash of colour to create varied, inspiring and personalised spaces. The minimalist approach particularly promotes maximum flexibility, and draws attention to the key furniture pieces, meant to feature within the space.

Who designed the space?

I did. I’m an architect with 15 years’ experience in commercial architecture. Although I love what I do, I’ve lost my faith in the industry over the past couple of years. The professional teams that make these projects happen seem to enjoy less and less appreciation for their contributions and are increasingly expected to work at excessively reduced fees, which translates to reduced resources, increased risk and increased stress levels, simply to “break even”. For me, the input is just no longer worth the output.

Naturally this project was very personal to me – it was a pleasure and privilege to have been the client and the designer on this project. Having spent hours in meetings myself, I knew exactly what I wanted and what I could make work financially, with no unrealistic expectations to manage. I also took on the role of Project Manager, which was less pleasant, but still an interesting challenge. Let’s just say I have a new found respect for Site and Project Managers. 

Which local designers have you used?

We are a Proudly South African company with a deep appreciation for aesthetics and local design. We have partnered with an extended family of local designers that are on the cutting edge of design innovation, the idea being to provide a platform for our partners to reach great heights through our network of contacts while we benefit from fitting our space with their products.

The lounge furniture, as well as the signature boardroom tables are from GOET furniture. Tydloos.com timeless handmade collectables, from Sureen Gouws, make the most striking wall clocks that help us keep time in the boardrooms. CaBo Design, by Mariaan van Zyl, is responsible for all our glass, ceramic and wooden serveware.

If you buy any of our partner products through us, you are entitled to a 10% discount.

What are the stand-out features of Out of Office Hub?

At Out of Office hub we’re all about the experience, the technology and the relationships we build. It’s centrally located in the heart of the Cape Town CBD and the contemporary space is furnished with the latest designs from our local partners. The space is scalable and flexible and can accommodate multiple layouts. Visitors experience total connectivity and the latest technology in a fully air-conditioned space, with on-site IT support, a fully-equipped coffee bar and high-speed internet and Wi-Fi.

What sets it apart from other co-working spaces?

Out of Office Hub is not a co-working space. The idea is to co-exist with co-working spaces. The core business and thus income for co-working spaces is the square metres they are able to let, which often leaves insufficient space with insufficient technology for the ancillary functions an office should offer. This is where we come in. We provide those extras, because that is our core business. We are an off-site turnkey meeting and event space who will help you host successful meetings and events.

For more information, visit outofofficehub.com.