THAT’S THE POINT
Leonardo da Vinci said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, and it is clear that Boogertman + Partners Architects new home in The Point, agrees with that wise old man.
If a house is a building for living in, so Boogertman + Partners believes an office is a building for living in too. Since 1982 the firm has been designing award-winning buildings and spaces worldwide and has recently designed its perfect creative workspace. The Point, situated in the prime location of Brooklyn Circle was completed in 2012. The firm’s office space in the energy-responsible building is 1 500m2 and the work hub for 100 creatives. Designed to be a ‘background’ building, The Point’s simplicity makes a discreet statement.
The building’s scale responds to the surrounding area and its white facades softly hug the curve of Duncan Street and Brooklyn Circle. The building was set away from the street edge to be less imposing on the surrounding urban environment, and the monochrome colour scheme is both corporate and simple The challenge was to design a building that would meet the company’s needs and would be practical for other tenants as well.
Boogertman + Partners’ space-planning requirements included closed offices, open-plan space, an in-house 3D and graphic design studio, an interior design department, libraries, internal meeting rooms, a kitchen and breakaway spaces. Space for expansion has also been provided for.
There is a buzz of energy as people rush through the space, plans underarm, or groups of thinkers huddle around a mountain of plans, manically discussing and sketching ideas, quite oblivious to their surroundings. The interior, by Boogertman + Partners Interiors, is designed to follow the lines of the building, creating a happy marriage between interior and exterior. The simplicity continues as you enter the frameless glass sliding doors. Light streams into the double-volume space and the streamlined timber reception desk, inspired by the building’s contour lines, sits in front of a full-height facade that creates a living picture of Pretoria against a clean white canvas.
Everything is calm and orderly, until the eye is inevitably caught by the riot of a rug that screams the mark of a born creative. It is purity with a hint of madness, like the mind of any true artist. Warm oak clads the Tate Modern-inspired staircase, and the colourful texture of the vast library contains books from architecture to philosophy. The interior is centred on a double-volume atrium that connects the work-space to the informal breakaway area littered with brightly coloured chairs. A long counter following the curve of the building creates an informal discussion space, and, come Friday afternoon 4 p.m. sharp, a bar too, where the staff can raise a glass to the end of a busy week.
The office space has been designed by an architect, for an architect, for living and for working. ‘As a creative company that has been around for as long a we have, it is important to always keep reinventing ourselves in a changing world. Complacency is death. We believe this is a new era for the company that reflects our ethos of “Excellence by Design” more strongly than ever before.’
Text by Gisela Patlansky
