Vega is a tertiary-level institution that helps the strategically and creatively inclined become creative professionals who specialise in developing and maintaining strong brands. Its Cape Town campus is on the third floor of 11 Adderley St. What brought this creative college into the Central City in time for the 2012 academic year?
“Innovation training is ideally centred in a creative hub. The Central City and East City represent this energy,” says Jan Horn, campus principle at Vega Cape Town. “There’s a vibrancy here. We wanted to be part of the international trend that is seeing creativity condense in the centre of cities.”
Being able to take better advantage of what the city is investing in, just through location, argues Jan, is important to the school and beneficial to the students.
The Vega teaching philosophy, of combining “wisdom with magic”, focuses on design-led problem solving. “We found that, along with the creative skills involved in making the best brands, an important element was strategic thinking and an understanding of how to approach problems. Look at the creative direction the city is heading in, not just with East City, but also with the World Design Capital 2014 project and Design Indaba. Both are centred on design that solves real problems, with solutions are original, practical, implementable and sustainable. These efforts, besides from helping turn Cape Town into the design hub of South Africa, determine our approach.”
As part of their third year, students are required to undergo an internship with a firm in the industry. The majority of these students are employed within a few months of graduation.
Collaboration and integration at 11 Adderley St
Vega’s new campus setting required 2 300m2 of customisable floor space, and needed to be firmly situated on the city’s creative pulse. 11 Adderley St is a newly renovated space that meets both of those needs.
The centrality, accessibility and healthy environment of the building further aided the decision to move. “Besides that the Central City is clean and safe, many students catch the train into town, and many others use the MyCiTi bus network. It is no surprise that Cape Town is currently seeing a reverse in the trend of many cities across the world,” explains Jan. “People are moving back into the city centre to live and work instead of out to the suburbs. This is happening as people experience the vibrancy and potential of an inner city and want to be part of that.”
Knowing that the other large tenant of 11 Adderley St is 24.com also attracted Vega to the building. “Students now have the opportunity to rub shoulders with employees of a company who typically employs large numbers of young South Africans equipped with creative industry skills. It’s healthy for them to get a larger perspective of the working world while studying.”
24.com moved to 11 Adderley St in 2010 as the space on offer fitted with the company culture – of collaboration and integration. With large sections of open plan office space on four storeys of the building, the online publisher is set up in a way that enables its various online units to create a digital campus, says general manager Geoff Cohen.
“Obviously the location is convenient for the staff in terms of proximity to public transport, and for the business, as the Media24 head office is down the road in Heerengracht,” he says.
“Public transport saves staff time, money and emotional energy as they aren’t so drained after fighting with traffic during their commute,” adds Aybri du Plooy, 24.com facilities manager. “You can actually see it in their faces if staff took public transport to work or not. Previously I turned down jobs because they required me to work in town; I regret that now.
“The CBD is a great place to work and, personally, I’ve caught the trains as late as 19h30 and have never had a problem with safety.”
Solutions architect Dave Mackie agrees, although he would like to have more healthy lunch options nearby. “KFC, Nando’s and McDonalds are nearby and sometimes they’re just too tempting to refuse.”
Tap into Vega’s new breed of brand thinkers: 11 Adderley St | www.vegaschool.com, 021 461 8089
Check out Media 24’s many information arms: www.media24.com.
This article first appeared in the April 2012 issue of City Views. Read it online.
Photos of students sitting opposite 11 Adderley, and of Jan Horn: Lisa Burnell