Johannesburg
Sandton cowork screens
Karoo screens dividing cowork pods without drywall.
Field notes: cowork pods in sandton
On arrival at the Sandton cowork, we found a large, bright workspace with a mix of open-plan seating and smaller pod clusters. The main ask was to create zones for focus and informal chats without putting up any drywall or sacrificing the natural light from the building’s high glass windows. The space faces north, so there is plenty of warmth during the day, but also quite a bit of glare around lunchtime, especially in summer.
We proposed our Karoo Screens to form soft partitions between pods. Each screen stands 1.9 metres tall and is built from solid ash with exposed joinery, finished with a beeswax polish that breathes in Joburg’s dry winter air. The legs straddle the low-pile carpet, and the feet include cork pads to avoid any marks when rearranged. Harbour Shelves were added between some pods for extra storage, allowing teams to keep laptops, powerbanks, or a quick cup of moer coffee close by. Delivery was a bit of a juggle, navigating busy lift lobbies and hoisting everything up in a single bakkie trip before the afternoon thunderclouds rolled in.
What worked and lessons for future jobs
The Karoo Screens worked well for flexibility. They slot into place within minutes, so the team could easily reconfigure the layout for events or when new tenants arrived. The ash frames held up beautifully, and the scale of the screens felt just right, private enough for focus, but not so tall that people felt boxed in. The natural beeswax finish helped prevent static in the winter, a surprise benefit in the dry Highveld climate. Harbour Shelves proved useful for dividing larger pods, doubling up as both a boundary and a tidy-up spot for small kit.
Key takeaways found their way into later cowork and studio jobs:
- Screen feet with cork pads for easy gliding and no carpet damage.
- Modular shelving as a boundary and storage, not just a divider.
- Beeswax finishes reduce static and wear in dry, heated buildings.
- Open partitions that keep sightlines clear but still carve out quiet zones.
What we would change next time
One issue was the amount of daylight glare. While the screens broke up direct sightlines, they did not always soften the harsh midday sun. Next time, we would test a waxed canvas or woven panel insert in some of the screens to filter light without losing the open feeling. Another lesson: the bakkie lift could have been better scheduled to avoid the busiest times, moving through Sandton mid-morning meant a lot of dodging suitcases and food trolleys. For future installs, we would coordinate more tightly with building management to streamline access.
We would also include a few extra shelf brackets as backup, as we found teams liked to shift the Harbour Shelves up or down for different uses. All round, the experience has shaped our approach to modular cowork partitions, with more focus now on user-led adjustments and light management.