Construction World October 2019

and technology allows us to connect more easily with people in other countries, I think it will be interesting to look at places like Europe and Australia, and other parts of the world as well.” Rapidly-changing technology has also assisted the Paragon Group’s clients to better visualise their projects before construction even commences. “It is hugely helpful with the design process. While we start off with concept sketches, the 3D environment allows us to interrogate our designs and determine if they respond accordingly to the client’s specific requirements.” The boom in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality is likely to result in new market opportunities. “I think it is going to be interesting for us architects to create these digital meeting and collaborative spaces,” Meiring speculates. Another key factor impacting on the demand for office space is the trend towards flexible working hours and disruptive innovations such as shared workspaces. Technology has empowered people to work from home, or to work from a coffee shop or a shared workspace. “However, the more we interact online, the greater our need for human interaction. In terms of the office of the future, this is

unlikely to change. People need to meet, interact, brainstorm, and collaborate. And that is what these spaces are about.” The traditional square metre rate per person, in terms of allocating a single desk and chair, will no longer be the yardstick for design. “The trend going forward will be about communal spaces. Property developers are going to have to take this into serious consideration. That is why we are seeing an increasing trend for mixed- use precincts.” An excellent example, and another award-winning project for the Paragon Group, has been the Alice Lane precinct in Sandton. Mixed-use precincts do not only apply to the higher end of the market, with communal spaces equally important in the residential market. “I think an interesting trend to watch out for, which we have not seen a lot of in South Africa yet, is the communal living market, where people have a very small living space, but then the building itself has a lot of communal spaces and facilities. This also plays into the affordability trend, as it gives people access to a whole range of additional amenities.” A similar trend is emerging in the education market, with multiple tertiary institutions combined on a single campus, such as in Dubai, which allows different

‘brands’ to share canteen space and related facilities. Related to this trend is the large number of leading international brands entering the South African market for the first time, such as shared workspace giant WeWork, which has taken up five floors in the Paragon-designed The Link building in Rosebank. Paragon Interface was the Architect of Record for this fast-track fit-out project. “WeWork is coming in with quite a force. I think it is all part of this shift in how offices operate, and how people see offices, and they are picking up on that demand quite quickly,” Meiring notes. What continues to give Paragon Group the leading edge is its dual expertise and experience in architecture and interior architecture. It is for this reason that Meiring continues to remain optimistic about the future. “Yes, I am confident. But I think we are all going to have to rethink how we operate – not only us as architects, but also property developers and our other traditional clients. “I think the opportunities will simply come from different places than they have traditionally. It is all about opening up that scope, and looking around to see where we can identify growth. I think we, as both an industry and a county, are very adaptable and adjustable,” Meiring concludes. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD OCTOBER 2019