ThoughtWorks is a privately owned, global technology company with 42 offices in 15 countries. They are said to be leaders in Digital Product Development Services, Digital Experience and Distributed Agile Software Development, providing software design and delivery, and pioneering tools and consulting services. Karpinski Design was tasked with designing their African, but more specifically South African headquarters, based in Johannesburg.
ThoughtWorks had always been situated in the urban hub of Johannesburg but wanted to move into a building more suited to their evolving needs. This fresh start presented itself in the form of space on the 10th & 11th floors of an office block overlooking downtown Johannesburg. The challenge was to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing interior that still maintained and celebrated the amazing urban view. All services and technology were housed in a centralised bulkhead allowing the 1960’s, concrete ribbed soffit to shine through, uncluttered.
Natural light, track lighting and down lights were used within the space to achieve a constantly subtle, warm glow. In keeping with the business’ culture, the entire 10th floor was designed to be used for entertaining and collaborative spaces enabling ThoughtWorks to host functions and run seminars in order to ‘amplify positive social change and advocate for an equitable tech future’.
