SMART OFFICES

The Smart Offices were designed as the first phase of a large development that is becoming an urban design node for Gabarone. The commercial and retail components form a large mixed-use precinct in the new CBD of Gabarone, where the offices are positioned to clearly define the urban street edge of the development.

The Smart Offices have a functional layout with two wings around a central covered courtyard space, and clean floorplates to accommodate a variety of office layouts. The character of the building is defined by the use of solar screens on various facades and floating parasol roof slabs. These design elements give the building an honest aesthetic appropriate to its context, as the building aims to provide functional space while providing environmentally sustainable, comfortable and well-lit internal spaces for the inhabitants.

Co-Arc International Architects has a long history as urban designers, and this experience came to the fore with the development of the Smart Office in Gabarone. The office building had to be designed to fit into the context of the new expanding business hub of Gabarone which is a vibrant new addition to the city. The new CBD capitalises on the available space, but also responds to the existing and more historic legislative and heart of the city to the East. It was with this in mind that the Smart Office was designed since it was constructed early in the development of this new commercial hub, and therefore had to take into account any future developments around it. Co arc had the foresight to account for this, based on many years of experience in urban design, and the office building is already starting to fit into its surroundings well. Since Co-Arc operates out of Johannesburg, South Africa, the project required collaboration across borders with Paledi Incorporated, and it is through this teamwork that the Smart Office project was completed successfully. As architects that work internationally the design challenge was to hit upon the key location of the building, in creating a Smart office near me concept within the context of Gabarone. The location of the office building is such that it is near the urban centre of both the old and the new centres of the city, which was an important design aspect to the urban design, since such a prominent location lends itself to creating a landmark within the city. The functional layout of the building, centred around a courtyard, with flexible floor space, allows for freedom in the interior design of the office space. Office design requires this flexibility due to the nature of the ever changing, upgrading and technological advances in the ways in which offices are used. It was with this in mind that Co-Arc ensured maximum adaptability of the space provided, so that the interior design could be as free as possible to provide creative internal spaces for office work.