The spaces between living and working are merging, as VISI explored in The Office issue last year. Now Designboom have picked up on the “floating” building in Pretoria’s leafy Menlo Park that we featured. With its work area cleverly separated from the living space by two staircases, it provides its owner with the best of both worlds.

Wouldn’t it be great to roll out of bed, straight to the office, without the hassles of traffic and parking? Or to enjoy a coffee at your favourite café, without having to return to walled-in suburbia at the end of the day?

This is exactly what architects Johan Wentzel and Grete van As of W Design Architecture Studio had in mind when they conceptualised this contemporary but unpretentious building (owned by George Sutherland of Event Wizards) in the semi-urban neighbourhood of Menlo Park, in the east of Pretoria. “We wanted to design a building that could change over time into whatever our clients need it to become – whether that’s a home or an office, and especially to make it possible for them to have multiple variations of both,” says Johan.

At first glance, there’s an unmistakable air of openness that invites you in. The building, nestled in between a mixture of residential and small business properties, seems to float among the trees, and even wraps around an existing stinkwood. “We wanted to create an illusion of space despite the relatively small size of the site,” Johan explains. A transparent security screen replaces the traditional solid walls that have become the signature of suburbia. Grass concrete pavers extend to the street edge to add a soft green touch to the parking area.

Keeping professional and private lives separate is one of the major challenges of this kind of set-up. The architects resolved this dilemma by creating two separate staircases leading from the entrance foyer on the ground level up to the first floor, where it conveniently splits the upstairs level into two independent wings.

One of the wings is slightly bigger than the other, so it’s easy to imagine how a start-up home office can initially reside in the smaller wing and then, over time, migrate effortlessly to the bigger wing, as it grows into a fully fledged business venture. Or, as the family grows, the spaces can be reversed to accommodate more (and older) children.

Another perk of living and working in the same building means that a step across the adjacent threshold is all that’s required to prepare a quick lunchtime snack, or to clear your head for five minutes while sinking back into your favourite armchair.

The flipside of that coin is the potential feeling of being bottled up in one place. But, somehow, in this space it’s impossible to feel caged in… The wide vista of unobstructed views that open up on the first level – where solid concrete gives way to continuous glazing – creates an overridng sense of space, which goes way beyond the boundaries of the property.

The interior architectural style of the building is subtle and sophisticated. A striking patterned ceiling is created throughout by the layout of the off-shutter concrete roof, and rays of light filter through coloured glass beads that were used to fill the holes left by the concrete formwork in the walls. Commenting on the unusual finishes, Johan explains: “We wanted to keep the interiors simple, almost like a blank canvas, so that whoever occupies the building in future can be a part of the creative process.” The attention to detail and the pared-back decorative touches add warmth to the minimalist interior.

Tucked away underneath the deep shady overhangs of the cantilevering concrete roof, all the windows slide open to reveal the hustle and bustle of the lively street life below. A whiff of freshly baked croissants wafts up from the bakery down the road. A deftly clad woman steps out of her office persona and slips into her mom’s taxi. Another car passes by… Perhaps it’s a bit less about where you live and a bit more about how you live? Which world do you choose to live in?

W Design Architecture Studio, 083 445 0424, wdas.co.za.

See more of our articles about office design here.

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1. Lighten up

Make sure there is adequate lighting to avoid eyestrain and eye fatigue, which leads to tension headaches. Get a desk lamp if necessary.

2. Shield the windows

If you have windows, avoid glare on the computer screen by using blinds or curtains. In terms of layout, neither you nor the computer should face a window. Also use the windows for ventilation and temperature control.

3. Lift your laptop

Using a laptop without a stand is one of the most common and detrimental ergonomic mistakes. Sitting upright, imagine a horizontal line in front of you, your screen should be 15° below that line. A laptop on its own is too low, so you end up straining your neck and shoulders forward. The laptop stand raises the screen so that it is the correct viewing distance.

4. Take enough breaks

It’s important to take physical breaks where you get off your chair and move around, but also give your eyes a rest by taking a break from your screens – and that doesn’t mean swapping to your iPad or cellphone! A nifty trick is not to place printers right next to your computer so that you are forced to walk a bit.

5. Stretch your legs

There should be enough legroom and space underneath your desk so that every now and then you can stretch your legs out in front of you without hitting them.

6. The all-important chair

Before you spend a lot of money on an expensive chair that isn’t actually good for you, consult an ergonomist. The major features of an ergonomic chair are that it’s height-adjustable, has an inclining backrest that provides support for the entire back (from lower back to neck), is cushioned to avoid circulation problems, and has height-adjustable cushioned armrests. We know most chairs don’t have armrests, which is bad because it leaves the arms unsupported, placing all the strain on the shoulders.

7. Round the desk edges

The edges of a desk should not be sharp. If your forearms and wrists are pressing against a sharp edge, it will cause compression of nerves in the soft tissue that can lead to a muscular-skeletal disorder. It’s also good to get a mouse pad with a cushion support for your wrist.

8. Elbow line up

If you’re sitting on your chair and typing, the height of your desk should be in line with your elbow. If not, adjust the height of your chair – or table, but most people don’t have a height-adjustable table.

For more information on ergonomics in the work place visit: hfeconsulting.co.za and ergonomicssa.com

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Not all chairs are created equal. And, when it comes to where you put your tush for eight hours every day, and winning the all-important office Olympics, it’s important to know the “Diffrient”.

Niels Diffrient is an American industrial designer who coined the concept of ergonomics in 1974. In 1999 he designed the Freedom Chair for New York-based office company, Humanscale. Besides being moulded from an X-ray of the human spine sitting at a desk, what distinguishes the Freedom Chair (and its sequel the 2004 Liberty Chair, plus pretty much all of Niels’s office thrones) is that you don’t need a PhD to adjust a gazillion knobs to make it comfy.

Only the height can be adjusted while the backrest and armrests respond to you simply sitting forward or back. With that leaving us to get on with our Pinterest obsession, the announcement that Humanscale will now be assembling Liberty Chairs in South Africa also means there’s no waiting time on orders.

Initiated and driven by Formfunc Studio, Humanscale’s exclusive dealer partner in southern Africa, this promises job creation and skills development, since the factory floor manager from the main production plant in Dublin will be training the local assembly staff. We think it’s a great boon for our country’s ailing manufacturing sector, not to mention the benefits for our butts!

Liberty Chair, from R8 750; Freedom Chair, from R10 450, formfunc.co.za, humanscale.com

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Looking through the keyhole of working South Africa, VISI discovered some super funky and well thought-out office spaces when we put together VISI 66 The Office – too many to fit in one magazine. Here’s a peep into the 24 Carrots offices in Johannesburg.

Spending nearly a third of one’s time at work means, in order to be in the right mind space, it’s necessary to be in the right office space. Johannesburg-based 24 Carrots took this to heart when they remodelled their headquarters, turning it into an exciting hub that promotes communication and the sharing of ideas.

A corporate events design company by nature, 24 Carrots purchased the one-time synagogue, which dates back to 1946, in 2005 and undertook the task of revisioning it themselves. Being “in the business of selling experiences”, they aimed to create an inviting office space layered with visual surprises. Several playful elements – such as soccer balls and wall decals – combined with opulent pieces such as dramatic chandeliers and ceramics, strike a balance between luxurious and relaxed. While the palette consists predominantly of black and white, colour is introduced through greenery, touches of gold and various earthy tones.

Decorator Sarah Clarke was asked to create striking paint effects. She transformed the reception area by producing a cowhide effect and transformed an old piano by adding black-and-white stripes, as well as beautiful silver leafing. The mezzanine level, exposed staircases and partially open cubicles promote spontaneity, encouraging employees to feed off each other’s energy, while creatively connecting.

Another creative, graffiti artist Nicholas Kerr, was approached during the renovations. He took his spray can to the building’s facade and boundary wall, producing a striking monochrome mural. His work allows the black-and-white theme to spill onto the exterior, wowing clients from their time of arrival.

The revamp has left employees thrilled to spend a great deal of their day in an inspiring office environment, with the added advantage of being able to escape to a roof terrace that overlooks the City of Gold. 

See more of the inspiring office spaces we have uncovered online or get VISI 66 The Office for the latest international trends in the 9-to-5 spaces.

We’re giving away 100 digital subscriptions to the first 100 people to tell us what you loved about The Office edition of VISI, by either tweeting (and including “#TheOffice @VISI_mag”) or posting to our Facebook page. We will send you a voucher for a year’s worth of digital editions of VISI magazine, first-come first-serve!

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PHOTOS Andre van Niekerk, Vivid Blue

Interior design consultants Establishment was commissioned to design, manage and fit out iKineo’s new office space in the Woodstock Exchange.

iKineo has grown into a leading pan-African marketing, communications and integrated direct response agency with clients such as Jack Daniels, MTN and Glaceau. It decided to expand its office space and moved into the new Woodstock design district from their previous Hout Street location.

“Innovate. Create. Relate.” Establishment took this brand and logo to heart, together with the client brief, and modelled a space that fulfilled all the requirements for everyone entering this space, designed for what it is intended for. Establishment creates spaces people want to work, live and play in – success!

Illusion design was part of the approach. To add space in the compact 18-seater boardroom, the walls and doors, including glass panels, were slanted. This also created a feeling of translucency and openness that was a vital part of the brief. Lighting design for each individual work area, Establishment custom furniture for ultimate comfort, bike stands to promote being green and a café-style kitchen to take time out, were some of the solutions for this successfully designed space.

Colour and creative design were used to invent this fun office space for Establishment’s very proud clients… Have a peek at some of their other spaces on their website or pop them an email at info@establishment.co.za to find out more about their services and products. Like Establishment on Facebook to keep abreast of their latest ventures.

Establishment, 021 438 9066, info@establishment.co.za, www.establishment.co.za

Click here to see more inspiring workspaces online, or get VISI 66 The Office for the latest international trends in the 9-to-5 spaces.

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Read in English.

Henning Rasmuss en Anthony Orelowitz is mededirekteure van Paragon Architects. Hulle was deel van die ontwerpspan van die Kaapstad-stadion en ook die praktyk wat verantwoordelik was vir die Norton Rose Towers by Alicelaan 15 en die nuwe Alexander Forbes-gebou by Wesstraat 115 (dit verskyn in VISI 66 The Office). Nou het Henning sy oog op Afrika. Hy gesels met Nechama Brodie oor ’n paar van die landskappe wat sy loopbaan help vorm het.

Die 1970’s: Die laaste opbloei in die boubedryf

Henning het in Johannesburg grootgeword en as kind gereeld in Melville saam met sy pa op die bus geklim om “stad toe” te gaan.

“Ek het altyd na bouterreine gaan kyk terwyl my pa al sy take afgehandel het,” vertel Henning. “Hy het my teen ’n plankheining staangemaak met loergate op grootmens- en kinderhoogte en my vir ure daar gelos. Dit het ’n diep indruk op my gelaat. Ek het grootgeword terwyl Johannesburg se laaste opbloei in die boubedryf letterlik voor my oë afgespeel het.”

Henning onthou byvoorbeeld die voltooiing van die ou Standard Bank-gebou – ’n “hangende gebou” wat van bo af ondertoe gebou is – en die Carlton-sentrum.

“Wat my bybly, is die reuk,” sê hy, “die reuk van beton en sweiswerk. Die geluide en die reuke. Die omvang van die uitgrawings…”

Henning wou in ’n stadium by sy pa weet wat al dié mense doen. Sy pa het verduidelik die argitek is die enigste mens wat weet en verstaan wat elkeen op die bouterrein doen.

Die 1980’s: Gebroke geboue

Henning bieg hy was effens dronk die aand toe hy besluit het om argitektuur te studeer. Hy was besig met sy militêre diensplig en moes sy aansoekvorms vir universiteit voltooi en tussen regte en argitektuur kies.

“Ek het een van my vriende gevra watter kursus ek moet kies,” vertel hy. “Hy’t gesê jy is klaar so ’n groot etter, jy sal ’n verskriklike prokureur wees! So toe maak ek maar ’n merkie langs argitektuur.”

Volgens Henning het hy en ’n groep vriende, onder andere Thorsten Deckler van 26’10 Architects (wat ook in VISI 66 The Office verskyn), op universiteit begin om argitektuur te “eet, drink en slaap”. Sy studiejare het saamgeval met ’n ooglopende agteruitgang van Johannesburg se sentrale sakedistrik toe talle groot ondernemings die middestad verruil het vir Braamfontein, die ontluikende sakekern van Sandton en die voorstede.

“Ons was heeltemal te vinde vir die idee van gebroke geboue, ou nywerheidsgeboue, geboue wat ingeplof word – die gebroke aard van alles en die geraamtes van geboue… Dit was ’n regte 1980’s-ding,” sê hy oor die obsessie met struktuur en dekonstruksie, “soos om met fotokopieë en Letraset te werk”.

Die 1990’s: Herlewing

Henning sê as jong gegradueerde het almal gepraat oor Johannesburg wat dood is. “Dit het my verskriklik geïrriteer om ’n jong argitek te wees in ’n stad wat volgens almal sy laaste asem uitgeblaas het. Ek wou probeer verstaan hoekom.”

Ná 1994 het Henning kennis gemaak met “allerhande buitelandse argitekte wat baie geïnteresseerd was in Johannesburg”. Hy het hulle op stadstoere geneem en eers opgewonde geword oor die Goudstad se argitektuur nadat hy dié oorsese besoekers begin rondneem het.

Volgens Henning was dit die begin van ’n nuwe fase: Hy het die verband tussen maatskaplike geskiedenis en argitektuur gesnap.

“Ek het nog altyd baie in die geskiedenis belang gestel,” sê hy. “In die algemeen verstaan ek stede deur middel van die geskiedenis – elke periode, elke dekade, word gedefinieer deur die dinge wat toe gebeur het of die geboue wat tot stand gekom het.

“Toe ek in Berlyn gewoon het, het ek die geskiedenis van alles geken,” vertel hy. “Ek het my hele lewe in Johanesburg gewoon, maar toe besef ek ken net ’n baie klein deeltjie van die stad se storie.”

Op ’n wandeltog deur die oostelike middestad – die voormalige “kleredistrik” wat nou deur die Maboneng-distrik begrens word – het Henning ou nywerheidsargitektuur gesien wat weens apartheid vervalle was nadat die tekstielbedryf na die tuislande verskuif is. “Ek het gesien hoe die regering die stad gebreek het… ek het begin verstaan waarom sekere dele van ’n stad herlewe en ander ondergaan.”

Henning het heelwat tyd in Hillbrow, Bellevue, Yeoville en Observatory deurgebring en bewus geword van die sikliese aard van die Goudstad se stedelike migrasie, maar ook tekens van lewe gewaar in plekke wat deur talle ander afgeskryf is as dooie kolle. “Jy kon nog na Café Zurich [in Hillbrow] gaan,” ’n ikoniese koffie-en-kuierplek waar Henning se pa, ’n Duitse immigrant, in die 1950’s tyd deurgebring het, “maar nou was daar ’n totaal nuwe geslag immigrante wat van Afrika pleks van Europa kom.” 

Oorgangsruimtes

In die 1990’s het Henning en Thorsten “op ’n reaktiewe manier begin werk”. Volgens hom het hy en Thorsten “hulleself na die Venesiese argitektuur-biënnale genooi, dronk geword en ’n voorlegging ingedien”.

Nadat hulle genooi is om ’n aanbieding te doen, het Henning besef hulle moet die storie van Johannesburg vertel. “Dit was nodig dat ons sekere goed moet weet om die storie ’n sekere houding en geur te gee.”

As gevolg hiervan het hy ’n “sterk mening ontwikkel oor net mooi alles wat met Johannesburg te doen het”, en dít het weer daartoe gelei dat hy, tesame met Thorsten, een van die gesogte stedelike denkers geword het as dit kom by die herontwaking van die stad. Die twee het deelgeneem aan talle tentoonstellings en publikasies wat fokus op Suid-Afrikaanse oorgangsruimtes, veral saam met Anne Graupner, wat nou Thorsten se sakevennoot en vrou is.

Volgens Henning het Thorsten en Anne “’n meer aktivistiese praktyk begin”, terwyl hy “meer hoofstroom” geword het. In 1997, ná ’n paar maande waarin hy in Hongkong gewerk het, het Henning saam met Anthony Orelowitz ’n projek van stapel gestuur wat uiteindelik Paragon Architects geword het.

Die gebou met die hyser

“Ons het maar soos almal anders begin,” sê Henning. “Ons het badkamers opgeknap en stoepe en kombuise gebou. Ons moes maar rondsoek vir werk.”

Nou, sê hy, is private huise die enige werk wat hulle nié sal aanvaar nie. “Ons het besluit om te fokus op groter ontwikkelaars en projekte waarmee ’n mens geld kan maak.”

Hulle eerste groot projek was die opknapping van die Peregrine Holdings-hoofkantoor in Sandton. Dit het onder meer die byvoeging van twee ekstra verdiepings behels, asook die uitgrawing van die terrein vir parkering en tuine.

In 2002 het Paragon sy “eerste gebou met ’n hyser”-projek gekry wat deel gevorm het van die ontwikkeling by Melrose Arch. Dié hyser is nou deel van die firma se geskiedenis: Henning verduidelik hulle het in daardie stadium geruime tyd reeds by die eiendomsontwikkelaar en -belegger Zenprop vlerk gesleep, en die direkteur het gesê hy sal dit oorweeg om vir Paragon werk te gee “wanneer ’n ander maatskappy ons vertrou om ’n gebou met ’n hyser te bou”.

Hulle het vir Zenprop gebel die dag toe hulle die Melrose Arch-projek gekry het, en het sedertdien so baie werk vir die maatskappy gedoen dat Paragon amper begin bekend staan het as Zenprop se eie argitekspraktyk. (Zenprop is ook die ontwikkelaar van die Norton Rose- en Alexander Forbes-gebou.)

Flink by die dak

Paragon was een van die vennote van ’n gesamentlike projek met POINT Architects & Urban Designers wat betrokke was by die oprigting van die Kaapstad-stadion in Groenpunt. Hulle het vanaf 2006 tot met die oorhandiging van die stadion aan die Stad Kaapstad in 2009 aan die projek gewerk.

“Vir my was dit een van daardie geleenthede wat net eenkeer oor jou pad kom,” sê Henning. “Ek het die deel van die projek gekies wat my die meeste geïnteresseer het: hoofsaaklik die dak. Die struktuur is tegnologies ongelooflik gevorderd. Dit behels meer as 9 000 stukke glasse waarvan net 6 800 dieselfde grootte is. Die dak moes ook kon lig en sak om in die wind uit te sit.”

Die stadion – en spesifiek die dak – het uiteindelik ’n hele aantal internasionale ontwerp- en konstruksietoekennings gewen, maar Henning het ’n groot prys daarvoor betaal: Hy het amper al sy kliënte in Johannesburg verloor omdat hy baie tyd in Kaaptad moes deurbring. 

Die soeke na ’n globale praktyk

“Ek en Anthony het oor die jare ’n reeks ander ondernemings begin wat nou die Paragon Group vorm,” verduidelik Henning. Dit sluit in Hub Architects saam met Jean-Paul Zietsman, Paragon Interface Architects met Marilize van Dyk, Paragon Habitat Architects met Nadia Tromp, Aspire Architects met Rendani Netshilema, Paragon Arquitetura [in Brasilië] saam met Leticia de Andrade, en Paragon Architects South Africa met Thulani Sibande. “Dit is die verhaal van ons reis saam met verskillende vennote,” sê Henning.

Hy werk reeds meer as ’n dekade in Afrika en doen nou uitsluitlik ontwikkelingswerk op die vasteland. “Ons het besluit een van die vennote moet fokus op werk in Afrika, en nou is ons verteenwoordig in 11 verskillende lande en besig met projekte in ses van hierdie lande.

“Baie mense nader ons omdat hulle die soort geboue wil hê wat ons in Sandton oprig,” sê Henning.  “Ons gaan nie na Ghana en ontwerp op ’n ander manier nie. Die verskille tree in die bouprosesse na vore en word eers later in die proses eg ‘plaaslike’ projekte.”

Een van sy projekte behels die oprigting van ’n brouery in Cabinda, Angola, waarvoor elke stuk ingevoer moes word – “selfs die skroewe, spykers en hamers”. “Ek hou daarvan om geboue op te rig op plekke wat groot logistieke uitdagings bied,” sê hy.

Volgens Henning word ’n groot deel van sy tyd in Afrika bestee aan die opbou van verhoudings. “Ons is nie besig met projekte in al 11 lande nie, maar ons probeer ons net so wyd as moontlik uitgooi. Ons weet nog nie eens waar die kolletjies is nie, maar ek probeer dit al klaar verbind!”

Henning sê hy “gebruik baie van sy tyd om deur vensters te staar”. Hy maak klein eenminuut-films waar hy ook al gaan: Hy skakel sy foon se kamera vir presies 60 sekondes aan en skep dan ’n massiewe visuele collage – van nagklubs, restaurante, bouterreine, selfs die kos wat hy eet. “Ek gebruik die video’s vir opdragte, en om goed aan te teken. Later keer ek daarna terug en kyk dit weer. Ek kyk hoe mense bou, ek bestudeer die pleisterwerk, die teëls…” Detail eerder as argitektuur is wat hom boei.

“Ons wil die beste kommersiële argitektuurpraktyk op die vasteland wees. Dit gaan ’n lang reis wees. Dis lankal nie meer geboue wat my opgewonde maak nie. Nou is ek besig om die onderneming te ontwerp.” 

Koop die nuwe VISI 66 The Office om ons artikel oor die nuwe Alexander Forbes-gebou in Sandton te lees.

Lees nog Afrikaanse artikels oor argitektuur.

The post Die man van nuwe hoogtes appeared first on Visi.

Lees in Afrikaans.

Henning Rasmuss is a co-director with Anthony Orelowitz at Paragon Architects. They were part of the design team for the Cape Town stadium and the practice that designed 15 Alice Lane and the new Alexander Forbes building on 115 West Street (featured in VISI 66 The Office). Henning now has his aspirations set on Africa. He speaks to Nechama Brodie about some of the landscapes that have shaped his journey.

The 1970s: The last building boom

As a child, growing up in Johannesburg, Henning would accompany his father on trips into “town”, catching the bus from Melville.  

“I would go look at building sites while he completed his errands,” Henning says. “He would put me up against a hoarding – there would be viewing holes cut into the sides, at adult height and at kid height. He’d leave me there for hours. It left a deep impression. I grew up watching the last big building boom of Johannesburg.”

Henning remembers watching the completion of the old Standard Bank building – a “hanging building”, built from the top down – and the Carlton Centre.

“What I remember most is the smell,” he says, “the smell of concrete and welding. The sounds and smells. The size of the excavations…”  

At some point Henning asked his father: “What do all these people do?”

Henning’s father explained that the only person who knew what everyone was doing on site was the architect.  

The 1980s: Broken buildings

Henning says he was slightly drunk the night he decided to study architecture – it was during his national service and he had to complete his university application forms, deciding between law and architecture.

“I asked one of my friends [which course I should choose],” he says. “He said ‘you’re such an arsehole already, you’ll make a terrible lawyer.’ So I ticked architecture.”

At university Henning says he “ate, drank and slept architecture,” together with a close group of friends that included Thorsten Deckler of 26’10 Architects (also featured in VISI 66 The Office). His studies coincided with the marked decline of Johannesburg’s CBD when major tenants abandoned the city centre for Braamfontein or the nascent CBD of Sandton and the suburbs. 

“We got into the idea of broken buildings, old industrial buildings, imploded buildings – the brokenness of stuff and the skeletons of buildings. It was a 1980s thing,” he says, of the obsession with structure and deconstruction, “like working with photocopies and Letraset.” 

The 1990s: Resurrection

Henning says that when he was a young graduate “everyone was talking about how Jo’burg was dead. It irritated me a lot – [being] a young architect in a city everybody said was finished. I wanted to understand why.”

After 1994, Henning began encountering “all sorts of foreign architects who had an interest in Johannesburg.” He gave tours of the city, and says “I only got excited about Jo’burg architecture when I started taking [overseas visitors] around.”

It cued a new stage: where, Henning says, he began to understand the link between social history and architecture.

“I’ve always had a strong interest in history,” he says. “Generally I understand cities through history – every period, every decade is defined by the stuff that went down,” or, case in point, the buildings that went up.

“When I lived in Berlin I knew everything’s history,” Henning says. “I’d lived in Johannesburg my whole life, but realised I only understood a fraction of its story.”

Walking through the eastern inner city – the former “garment district”, now edged by the Maboneng Precinct – Henning saw “old industrial architecture that had become derelict because of apartheid, when the textile industry had been moved to the homelands. I saw how the government had broken the city. I started to understand why parts of a city rise and fall.”

Henning spent time in Hillbrow, Bellevue, Yeoville and Observatory, marking the cyclical nature of Jo’burg’s urban migration and signs of life in what many others had written off as dead spots. “You could still go to Café Zurich [in Hillbrow],” an iconic coffee and hangout spot where, Henning says, his father (an immigrant from Germany) had spent time in the 1950s, “and see new generations of immigrants”, now hailing from Africa instead of Europe. 

Transitional spaces

It was during the 1990s that Henning and Thorsten started “working in a reactive way.”

Henning says that that he and Thorsten “invited [themselves] to the Venice [Architecture] Biennale. We got drunk and sent in a submission.”

When they were invited to present, Henning says he realised they “had to tell a story about Johannesburg. We needed to know stuff – and give the story an attitude, and a flavour.”

As a result, he says, he developed a “strong opinion on just about anything to do with Jo’burg,” which in turn led to him becoming [together with Thorsten] one of the go-to urban thinkers about anything to do with the re-emerging city. The pair participated in a number of exhibitions and publications engaging with transitional spaces in South Africa, working together with Thorsten’s (now) business partner and wife Anne Graupner.  

While Thorsten and Anne “spun off into an activist practice,” Henning says he became “more mainstream”.

In 1997, after returning from working in Hong Kong for several months, Henning started what would become Paragon Architects, together with Anthony Orelowitz.

The building with the lift

“We started like everyone else,” Henning says, of Paragon, “doing bathroom renovations and patios and kitchens. We hunted for work.”

Now, Henning says, the only work they won’t take is private houses.

“We went where the money was,” he states, saying that he and Orelowitz actively began pursuing large developers and developments.

Their first major project was the renewal of the Peregrine Holdings head office in Sandton, which involved adding two extra floors and excavating the site for parking and landscaping.

In 2002 Paragon was awarded its “first building with a lift” – part of the development at Melrose Arch. The lift is now part of the firm’s history: Henning explains they had been courting property developer and investor Zenprop for some time; the director had told them he would consider giving Paragon work “when somebody else gave us a building with a lift,” says Henning.  

They called Zenprop the day they got the Melrose Arch job, and subsequently went on to do so much work for the company that Paragon almost became viewed as Zenprop’s in-house architects. (Zenprop is responsible for developing both the Norton Rose and Alexander Forbes buildings.)     

Raising the roof

Paragon was one of the partners responsible for creating the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point, in a joint venture through POINT Architects & Urban Designers, working on the structure between 2006 until it was handed over to the City of Cape Town in 2009.

“For me it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Henning, adding that “I chose the parts of the project that interested me, which was mainly the roof. The structure was incredible high-tech. It involved over 9 000 pieces of glass, of which only 6 800 were the same size. The roof also had to be able to lift up and down, to expand in the wind.”

The stadium – and the roof in particular – went on to win a number of international design and construction awards, but the project came at a high cost for Henning, who says that he “lost almost all of [his] Jo’burg clients” as a result of his time away in Cape Town. 

Growing a global practice

“Anthony and I have started a series of other businesses over the years, which now make up the Paragon Group,” Henning explains, including Hub Architects with Jean-Paul Zietsman, Paragon Interface Architects with Marilize van Dyk, Paragon Habitat Architects with Nadia Tromp, Aspire Architects with Rendani Netshilema, Paragon Arquitetura [in Brazil] with Leticia de Andrade, and Paragon Architects South Africa with Thulani Sibande. “This is the story of the journey with different partners,” Henning says.

Henning has been working in Africa for over a decade, and now only does African development work. “We decided one of the partners had to go after African work, and we’re now in 11 countries, with projects in six of these.

“People come to us because they want the kinds of buildings we do in Sandton,” Henning explains. “We don’t go to Ghana and design in a different way. The differences will emerge in the building processes, and become ‘local’ later.”

One of his jobs included building a brewery in Cabinda, Angola, where every single piece had to be imported, “right down to the screws, the nails, the hammers. I’m interested in buildings in logistically challenged locations.”  

Henning says a large proportion of his time in Africa is spent trying to build relationships. “We don’t have projects in all 11 countries, but we’re trying to take our net as wide as we can. We don’t even know where the dots are yet, and I’m trying to connect them.”

Henning says he “spends a lot of time looking out of windows”. He makes one-minute movies everywhere he goes, switching his phone’s camera on for exactly 60 seconds, creating a massive visual collage – of nightclubs, restaurants, building sites, even the food he eats. “I use the videos for briefings,” he explains, “and to map stuff. Then I go back and look at them again. I look at how people are building, at the plasterwork, at tiles.” The details, rather than the architecture, are what absorb him.

“We want to be the best commercial architecture practice on the continent. That’s a long journey. I’m off buildings. I’m designing the business now.”

Get the new VISI 66 The Office to read our feature about the new Alexander Forbes building in Sandton.

Read more of Nechama Brodie’s articles here. 

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In addition to the inspiring workspaces featured in VISI 66 The Office, we have a few more to share with you online. Lisa Johnston peeks through the keyhole of a progressive business consultancy that offers its staff the space to live and play and grow.

To peek through the keyhole at Grow Consulting in Parktown North, Johannesburg, is a little like playing at Alice peaking down the rabbit hole. The large office space is surprisingly uninhabited with only a few busy staff members at any given time. The reception area is graced with a beautifully restored art-deco lounge set and a generous coffee table piled with art and classic-car books. To the left is a glass-walled conference room with an immense wooden table, constructed from recycled trusses. The interplay of cool industrial lines with warm shapes and textures is carried through to its zenith on the main floor, down a few stairs, below. 

Once you tumble inside you discover that this is headquarters to what owner Michael Greyling, calls a “bunch of corporate refugees”. The consultancy works in human development and leadership and the Grow office space is all about “living, role-modelling and showcasing work-life integration”.

“There is a huge shift in business today. The conundrum is how to get more out of less and create a more diverse workforce,” says Michael. “The way to do it is to create meaning [for employees]. Work is about more than just the monetary component. You don’t have to leave your personality at the security desk when you check in; you bring your whole self to work and the office space must cater for your whole self.”

The Grow office space succeeds in being a showroom for this approach through an effortless balance between form and function – creating a comfortable, spacious and light interior, with all the “mod cons” necessary for an efficient workplace.

To the right a neat row of perfectly interspaced corporate desks and computers sit below industrial lightshades. While the area to the left of the large screed floor is adorned with a row of antique lockers; a 1930s shop counter, packed with glitter pens, balloons and other workshop ephemera; and a long wooden table with classical regency chairs.  

The contrast in styles is deliberate and intends to mirror the split between the right and left hemispheres of the brain – the rational and productive and the emotional and creative. The boardroom then, is a space of integration where the two halves merge, and dreams and inspiration are concretised and become real.

The precise attention to detail, with carefully chosen and placed objects, high-end technology and ergonomically designed desks also pay tribute to Grow’s work ethos, which aims to “sweat the small stuff” to create more meaningful human interaction.

The result since they moved to the office space, Michael says, has been a notable increase in productivity and desire to be physically present in the office, not just among staff but clients too. “Clients like being here,” says Michael. “They often book the boardroom for functions that aren’t related to work we do with them.”

Featuring over 20 inspiring 9-to-5 spaces, VISI 66 The Office is a must-have collectable. Buy it in stores until 10 July 2013 or get the digital edition right here, right now. 

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Matt Allison is an urban farmer, SAMA-nominated singer-songwriter, one-time engineer, design connoisseur and the brains behind the play-play office that he built his two-year old son Nathan, featured in the new VISI 66 The Office. VISI.co.za went behind the scenes to see how Matt himself lives and found an idiosyncratic pastiche of mid-century Danish and American collectables, handmade one-offs, and vintage keepsakes from friends and families.

That Matt is by nature a perfectionist, collector and curator who will go to the ends of the Earth to make his home just right is evident in the description of his lounge: “The brass sconces were sourced from Trifon of Palm Springs Vintage in California. You can see them on the set of the first few seasons of Mad Men. I tracked Trifon down through the set designer and had him make these ones in brass to fit the rest of our decor. The Masketeers ducks were a classic 1960s centrepiece in American homes and they still pop up from time to time, but it’s rare to still find a complete set. I bought this set from an Etsy seller in Oregon, who graciously shipped them halfway across the world to me. The atomic clock I purchased from a store online in New York. The chair was a shabby Gumtree find, which I had stained and reupholstered in a burnt orange dralon fabric. The atomic lamp was also a Gumtree find, though I had the drum shade rebuilt by The Lampshade Studio and covered in Skinny LaMinx’s Orla fabric.”

And don’t even get him started on his love for Danish design, as he describes his dining room: “The collectable wall unit is by Danish designer Poul Cadovius and was purchased from a retired couple who were scaling down, who in turn bought it from the Danish consulate in Durban 15 years ago. The dining room table, chairs and sideboard were locally made by Duros in the 1950/60s, sold as the ‘Dane’ set through Garlicks department stores. I bought the entire set from a family in Parow for R1 500, they just wanted it out and I was more than happy to welcome it into our home! The Louis Poulsen PH 4/3 pendant is an original I bought from an antique dealer in Denmark. It’s hard to believe that it looks so contemporary, but was designed in 1925.”

VISI covered the launch of Matt’s design blog, Curate This Space, here.

Get VISI 66 The Office to see Nathan’s kid-office. Featuring over 20 workspaces that are pushing the proverbial envelope, this issue is a must-have collectable. Get it in stores until 10 July 2013 or subscribe to the digital edition. 

Follow Matt’s design passions on his blog www.curatethisspace.com.

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Annemarie Meintjes

Every year, since I joined VISI in 2001, I have made the ultimate design pilgrimage to Milan.

Salone 2013, the 52nd International Milan Furniture Fair, was hard work this year. There were some 2 500 official exhibitors, plus capsule expos, installations and events spread out over the entire city, as far as the metro could take you – and beyond!

It is nearly impossible to see everything, so the editing starts even before reaching Milan, and the Fear Of Missing Out (my daughter calls it Fomo) sets in on arrival at Linate Airport. You should probably arrive the day before to do a recce of the newcomers and new spaces. Of course, I didn’t, so the Fomo never left me!

Rho Fiera, the official exhibition area, revolved around Jean Nouvel’s project, Office for Living, with its theme of dual-purpose home/work designs popping up everywhere. The Euroluce biennale went the LED route, and the well-established brands exuded an air of nostalgia, with a significant increase in revivals of past masters and masterpieces of Italian design. Re-editions of classic designs, re-edited by younger designers in subtle new shades and different materials, were also prevalent.

Echoing what VISI has been reporting for a while, there was also a clear move towards all things handmade, with a special nod to artisans, their craft and traditional materials. There is a desire for escapism, and the adage that “form follows function” does not seduce buyers anymore. The most astonishing example of this were the beds designed by the Campana Brothers for Edra.

Although Zona Tortona has lost its buzz, and the young designers and visitors now gather at Ventura Lambrate, the exhibitions at the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Triennale Design Museum never cease to excite me. And, the place to be and be seen at is undoubtedly Spazio Rossanna Orlandi.

Sumien Brink

I have never visited Salone but keep dreaming that next year will be my turn. Every year the whole world gets inspired by what is on offer in Milan and this year the VISI team had a lot of fun devoting a whole issue to the way the workplace has changed.

After so many years of static, sterile offices, there has been a massive shift in what our workspaces look like and what we expect of them – yes, even here in South Africa! After all, we spend most of our time at work so why shouldn’t they be challenging, inspiring and comforting, while blending effortlessly with our living spaces? I could take my handbag today and move into the one-room living-work space that Jean Nouvel designed for Salone 2013!

May you enjoy blurring the boundaries between working and living this winter.

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