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- Following the Covid-19 pandemic, office workspaces changed to hybrid and work-from-home models, leaving behind unused furniture.
- Sanlam collaborated with a global property firm to give its unused office furniture a second life as "upcycled" artwork.
- The eco-friendly artwork was recently exhibited at the Waterfront's Makers Landing market.
- For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future.
With over 21 000 employees, SA's largest insurer, Sanlam, amassed a significant amount of unused office furniture as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The financial services company donated desks, seats, dustbins, perspex screens, and other furniture they had been storing since Covid-19 to be upcycled.
Artists and designers from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global property advisory company, and its subsidiary interior design firm Tétris Design and Build, created an array of artworks from the salvaged furniture.
"Many different types of office furniture ended up in storage during Covid-19. For instance, all offices were required to have Covid screens, and when we removed the regulation, all the Covid screens were stored," said Glenda Venn, senior design strategist at Tétris.
Venn said what happened post-pandemic was a boost for an existing trend of flexible working.
"People have been looking for new ways of working," she said. "We were hot-desking, and we wanted to collaborate more. Some of us wanted to work at cafe tables, etc. Our hardware changed."
Venn said they recognised Sanlam as one of many companies that encouraged new working and collaboration methods.
"We felt that many of our clients have a common problem - and I think that often, when you have one like this, it requires reinvention, energy and art as a catalyst. Then you need artists, dreamers, and designers because they can help you reimagine the problem to find a solution," said Venn.
As Covid-19 came with the work-from-home phenomenon, Sanlam's transition to hybrid working rendered much of its furniture unsuitable for the new office spaces.
"We realised that what was once discarded or stored could be reimagined into something beautiful and useful," said Abel Sakhau, Sanlam's chief sustainability officer.
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The company aims to avoid adding furniture to landfills and help mitigate carbon emissions.
Says Sakhau:
When left in landfills, wood breaks down and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as it decomposes.
"We opened our storage to the artists, and they took desk drawers and Covid screens and turned them into quirky art pieces that bring personality and sustainability into office spaces," Sakhau told News24.
Office furniture reborn
Sanlam's offices use some of the art, including a staircase made from wood from a desk by artist Patrick Bongoy, who is nominated for the 2024 Loewe Foundation Craft Award in Paris.
"We can start an entrepreneurship programme where instead of throwing away old furniture, we can partner with people like Venn and people in that wood-making space to say we've got the material," said Sakhau.
"I think as South Africans, especially leaders, sometimes we forget that the youth and people in the creative space don't need us only to buy their artworks or whatever they produce. Sometimes, we need to assure them that we believe in them," he added.
Art can also impact overall employees' well-being, according to Sakhau:
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JLL and the artists wanted to create art that could enhance office space while promoting sustainability.
Some of the eco-friendly designs will be making their way to Sanlam's Cape Town and Johannesburg buildings, serving as a unique addition to their existing open spaces.
Venn said the power of artists to see the potential in seemingly mundane or unwanted objects has been thrilling for her.
"By partnering with artists, we also spark a conversation about reimagining the future of work," said Venn.
The artwork was also exhibited at V&A Waterfront's Makers Landing market. Each artwork was scored based on its sustainability.
The exhibition saw over a hundred Cape Town design students engaging with every item.
"That was very rewarding for me because they are our future," said Venn.
