Architecture and design firm Inhouse Brand Architects was recently approached to create the new Cape Town offices of local advertising agency 99c.

Its interior design team used the opportunity to produce a unique, yet more efficient work environment that sounds the death knell for the conventional office.

Inhouse approached the design process with several key goals, the first being to enhance the site. The 3 000 m2 premises occupy the top three levels of the Atlantic Centre, a new office development on Cape Town’s eastern foreshore.

There is a double-volume interior partly broken by a mezzanine level, and one floor below. Being as yet unoccupied, it was an empty shell to start with.

One of Inhouse’s goals was to create a fully functioning environment to suit the client’s daily business needs, as well as to reflect the creative nature of the agency and its employees.

Before starting any design work, an extensive study into the company’s daily activities was undertaken.

The Inhouse team, steered by Inhouse creative director Aidan Hart and team leader and senior designer Moiisha Visagie, looked at employees’ possible needs from the perspective of activity- based work principles and was then able to provide 99c with an understanding of what the most effective space-planning layout would be

Inhouse allowed for all types of interaction and both “high-focus” and “high-communication” zones. High-focus zones were defined as individual desks where interaction with others would be decreased.

High-communication zones were defined as spaces that would encourage and allow for teamwork, interaction and collaboration.

In a more traditional office environment, a meeting room or cafeteria would constitute a high-communication zone. Here, however, the need to meet less formally is catered for by various, so-called “campsites”, which are collaborative, shared spaces.

“The latest office design thinking contends that collaboration happens at the water-cooler and does not necessarily need to tie up an office space or a meeting room that has been earmarked for client use, and often stands empty for most of the day,” says Hart.

He adds that stimulating connectivity is paramount because one of the problems with corporate office space is level-by-level stagnation where departments are divided into operational silos that foster an “us and them” mentality.

“We feel as a design company that part of our strength lies in enhancing cross-floor communications and hopefully improving interpersonal connectivity. In this instance, the client was progressive, and wanted to use the opportunity presented to improve the work environment,” he notes.

99c MD Andrew Brand says it was important that the company’s new office space not only expresses creativity but also encourages and enhances it.
“As an agency, 99c creates the positive change that our clients require to achieve brand success, and we also embrace this ethos ourselves in our daily lives and work environment,” Brand states.

He explains that to achieve greater connectivity for the 99c team, Inhouse cut a hole in the existing concrete slab between the 8th and 9th floors and inserted a new stairwell. The boardroom was intentionally placed on the 8th floor, away from the 9th floor reception and lounge areas, in order to force movement between the floors.

The existing staircase between the 9th floor and the mezzanine level was also removed and a new stadium structure was installed. The structure houses the kitchen that services the café and bar area below.

Sustainable materials such as pine and plywood were used extensively throughout. Textured-looking oriented strand board, which has a patterned yet smooth finish, was used extensively for tactile impact and warmth.

In keeping with the theme of sustainability and respect for the natural environment that runs throughout – and also as a nod to the creative nature of the agency’s skills – a recycled shipping container has been innovatively converted into an up-to-the-minute waiting room.

It is “out the box” thinking, ironically demonstrated in a box . The container also echoes 99c’s purpose – it exists to produce creative solutions that are shipped around the globe, just as the container, in its original form, is a quintessential method of moving goods around the planet.

“With the office’s panoramic views of container ships in the harbour, the waiting room serves a subtle reminder to 99c’s employees of the importance of client service and delivery. In turn, what Inhouse has delivered is an office solution that embraces elements of activity-based work thought-systems and tailors these into a standout, contemporary environment,” concludes Brand.