Architect and Builder January/February 2016 | Page 62

INTERIOR FEATURE

BARCLAYS AFRICA
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
INTERIOR DESIGN: DHK

PHOTOGRAPHY: WIELAND GLEICH

The new Digital Development Office for Barclays Africa is situated
in a historic industrial building known as Longkloof Studios, in a
vibrant city neighbourhood of Cape Town. The new space is home
to a small group of talented young software developers specialising
in the design and development of high-end mobile and web-based
solutions within the unique context of the developing African market.
A much-loved anecdote from the team’s formation epitomises
their playful approach: When first visiting this particular site (which
was previously home to television station e.tv) they came upon a
room filled with old video tapes. They joked that the team would
be named after whichever movie was picked at random out of the
pile. That movie was Cowboys & Aliens – and so the concept for
the new office was formed.
The digital development team has always worked independently
and the new Longkloof office feels more like a young tech start-

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up than a financial institution. The team’s aim is to shake up the
way South Africa engages with finance and ba