Estate Living Magazine Estate Living Issue 29 May | Seite 17

2003, it anticipated losing a significant
number of its employees in the move,
so it needed to find a way to convince
current employees to make the move
with it.
As a result, their new office incorporates
a 24/7 coffee shop, a full cafeteria that
also serves as a large meeting room,
a sky-lit swimming pool on the eighth
floor with views of the docks and a full-
time gym with trainers, a travel agency,
a bank and a hairdresser. This provides
a high-performance work environment
that benefits both employees and
clients, who don’t need to worry about
finding time to deal with personal
economic
matters and errands. The result is that
Clifford Chance lost less than three
the longer commute. And, of course, some will have made the
decision to capitalise on the corporate move by moving to – and
buying homes in – Canary Wharf.
and
starting
Town’s derelict, and somewhat dodgy,
percent of its workforce, with most
employees deciding it was well worth
challenges,
at very much the same time, Cape
docklands has also – over the last three
decades – been transformed into a fabulous mixed-use precinct
of retail, business, entertainment and residential property – the
V&A Waterfront. Both spectacularly successful enterprises
exceed expectations in so many ways and have become world
Canary Wharf is a real success story, turning a once neglected leaders in showing how all aspects of one’s life can work
area of land into 40ha of London’s – and the world’s – most together seamlessly.
sought after office and retail space. But what’s really heartening
is its mirror image right here in Cape Town. Facing similar socio-
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