Architects Of Justice Architects Of Justice 2018 Review | Page 21

hardwearing vinyls were used for high traffic areas
and carpet tiles for the office spaces. Indoor planting
contrasts with the industrial feel of the spaces,
softening them and adding a natural element, while
the colour palette was largely dictated by the client’s
corporate identity. The company already had a
selection of good furniture from their previous office,
but have been supplementing furniture in the new
office as the need has become apparent.
“From a sustainable point-of-view, we installed motion
sensors and LED lighting in all the spaces, as well as a
low energy air conditioning system,” notes Rassmann.
Hard-wearing and easily replaceable materials were
used, along with a strong element of re-use. “In fit outs
such as this, the tenants often have an allowance, or
‘TI’, and any costs above this needs to be covered
by them. This usually only permits a small amount
of glass internally, but obviously more glass in an
office gives a more light and open feel, especially in
an office such as this with quite a high concentration
of individual offices. Usually a tenant would end up
paying in for glass partitions, and if they move in the
future, these would be left behind.” A demountable
glass partitioning system, that the tenant had begun
using in their previous offices, was incorporated
into the project, and a large part of their exercise
was designing the proportions of the partitions so they could have the best reuse in future offices of the
company. “This was one of the biggest hurdles,” explains Rassmann, “As not every office building is identical,
so we had to determine the best module which would most likely be able to be reused in the future.”
Another element of the project which required extra thought was the reception area. “The original reception
space in the basement wasn’t conducive to creating the type of welcoming area which the tenant wanted,”
notes Rassmann. The architects identified a dry walled space between the staircase and the receptions
current location, removed the wall, and created an intermediate lobby from the lower level which leads
visitors up to the reception area. “The initial design of the building separated the reception vastly from the
rest of the office, so we brought it back up and integrated it into the space. A focal point of this space is the
wooden element which was introduced as a screening element, to ensure that all visitors, no matter which
department they are going to, must directly report to the receptionist, in order to avoid unscheduled walk-
ins,” he says.
“Having a client who is knowledgeable about design made it a very nice project to work on,” says Rassman,
noting that while there weren’t too many embellishments cost wise, the exposed services were a lot harder
to deal with than originally envisioned. “Because offices aren’t always done in this manner, the original
contractors don’t lay every conduit and cable tray perfectly straight, so that took a bit of work to ‘beautify’,”
he says. “Overall, we have a very happy client and this was achieved with the help of the contractor,
Abbeydale & Civil, who allowed us to execute the project quickly, along with Quanticost Quantity Surveyors,
because, especially with the tight timeline, any design decision we made, we had to go back to the client
timeously with the costs,” he concludes.
Despite a tight timeframe, the joint design team of Architects Of Justice and On Target Interiors have
delivered a modern, industrial inspired interior to the offices of a company which has not only grown its staff
complement in recent years, but also shifted its business focus. The new offices allow Bongani Rainmaker
Logistics to consolidate their operations in a new home which reflect the company’s philosophy, but also
take cognisance of their role as a responsible corporate player.