Creative industry
The Paragon Group’s architectural and interior design teams collaborated to transform a vacant commercial building in Sandton into a vibrant creative hub for Primedia’s broadcasting and advertising business with a stripped-down industrial aesthetic.
Paragon Architects and Paragon Interface were commissioned to redesign and fit out a previously vacant office space in Sandton Central for media group Primedia, particularly to house its main divisions, which include broadcasting and outdoor advertising.
The existing structure was characterised by narrow floor plates and disconnected wings, complicated by the presence two courtyards on the first floor that cut off sections of the workspace and isolated them almost completely.
Paragon Architects altered and updated the façade of the building with strategically placed pop-out boxes and balconies and added a prominent steel and glass entrance, which establishes a sense of presence on street level and a welcoming sense of arrival. They also added a level using lightweight steel construction and reconfigured the internal spaces to create an open, light-filled, connected and dynamic workspace.
The entrance sets the tone. On either side of the main reception ‒ located in a double-volume atrium with steel-and-glass lifts ‒ studios for 702 and 947, two of Primedia’s flagship radio stations, showcase the organisation’s central endeavour at work as a primary part of the arrival and welcome experience. The buzz and excitement surrounding live radio broadcasts infuses the atmosphere and immediately engages visitors and the public, while also imparting a sense of pride and purpose among employees across the board.
The remainder of the ground floor includes a staff restaurant, a coffee shop accessible via glass sliding doors opening onto an outdoor balcony (with landscaping and a lap pool), and amenities such as a gym and wellness facilities for staff.
The courtyards on the first floor have been incorporated into the interior, converted into covered atriums, which in turn connect the internal spaces. Floor plates were extended to create additional space and improve circulation and connection. The interior design, in general, is characterised by a sense of transparency and openness.
The new raised top floor features a saw-tooth roof to filter soft southern light into the interior. The executive workspaces are located on the top floor beneath these warehouse-style roof volumes, where they open onto two roof terraces with entertainment facilities (the larger of the two actually spills out onto the top of the entrance canopy).
The balance of Primedia’s office- and workspaces are spread across three levels, which are organised into smaller clusters that overlook the atriums.
These spaces are linked via elevator cores, open staircases, bridges and walkways, allowing seamless transition between the different levels, and facilitating both vertical and horizontal visual connections.
Each floor features pause areas for communal recreational activities strategically positioned along on the atrium edges, encouraging relaxation, informal staff interaction and creative exchanges.
The redesign embraced a stripped-down, industrial aesthetic with exposed beams, raw concrete and the expressive use of materials such as face brick, roof sheeting, steel and glass. Services such as HVAC ducts, water pipes and electrical wire conduits are clearly visible and integrated into the aesthetic.
The furnishings and fittings sought to complement the raw, expressive materiality of the interior architecture with clean, light interventions that introduce simple, refined elements and understated sophistication.
The public areas feature smooth white terrazzo tile flooring complemented by light grey carpets, white desks and soft grey upholstery. This foundation, enhanced by touches of warm oak and white walls, provides an ideal backdrop for Primedia's branding while highlighting the bursts of colour and texture found in the local fabrics with which the furnishings have been upholstered.
The interventions by The Paragon Group breathe new life into an existing building through adaptive reuse while providing Primedia with a conducive environment to flourish. The aesthetic approach consciously joins a lineage of formerly industrial spaces transformed into hubs of creative cultural production in major cities across the globe, a concept uniquely tailored for Sandton and specifically for Primedia.
Built with Shorthand