Pretoria
Hatfield partition week
Screens and shelves for a university-adjacent cowork.
Field notes: brief and site conditions
For the Hatfield partition week up in Pretoria, we were asked to help define work zones within a large, open-plan coworking space near the university. The brief called for physical and visual separation, but nothing heavy or permanent. The interior had high ceilings, lots of glass, and a mix of soft northern light and harsh midday glare. There was a steady flow of students and freelancers, so the movement patterns kept shifting. The main entrance faced a tree-lined street, and the proximity to the Gautrain meant plenty of foot traffic.
Our Karoo Screens became the backbone for breaking up the zone. These screens stand 1.8 metres high with a powdercoated steel frame and woven cane infill. We set them up in staggered runs to avoid tunnel effects. For storage and display, we brought in Harbour Shelves, steel uprights and solid oak, 1.5 metres high, open on both sides for air and light. Both objects needed to cope with the occasional bump from a backpack or a quick rearrange if someone decided to move the chairs around.
Access was straightforward, with a wide goods entrance and no more than half a floor's worth of stairs from the bakkie to the main cowork. The only challenge came from some uneven screed and the way the overhead lights threw shadows onto cane. The building aircon hummed constantly, so nothing too delicate could go near the vents.
What worked and what carried forward
This job reinforced the value of modularity and robustness. The Karoo Screen’s lightness made it easy for anyone to tweak the layout as needed, and the Harbour Shelves slotted neatly between sitting areas, giving just enough privacy without boxing anyone in. The cane and oak handled the Pretoria air well, neither warping nor drying out. We have since used several lessons from this install in other shared spaces with a similar ebb and flow.
- Modular screens on low-profile feet allow for quick layout changes.
- Woven cane infill diffuses harsh sunlight without blocking airflow.
- Dual-sided open shelving provides subtle separation and access from both directions.
- Powdercoated steel frames resist knocks and are easy to wipe down.
What we would change next time
If we had a rerun, there are a few tweaks we would make. The overhead lighting in this space picked up every shadow in the cane, so next time we'd consider a finer or tighter weave to soften the patterns. Adjustable feet on the screens would have helped level things out on the uneven floor, especially after a few shifts and moves. We’d also pre-drill more cable holes into the Harbour Shelves uprights so that people can run laptop leads without snaking them across the floor. Lastly, we’d pack a mat or two to protect the screens during setup, as concrete dust was a headache for the finish.