African Design Magazine May 2015 | Page 26

Can you give us a short background on yourself and your practice? The project was done in collaboration between A4AC and Innovators Interiors. A4AC is a young design practise established in 2013 with three partners; myself, Anton Bouwer and John Saaiman. Our practise has a strong social and community aspect to it, but we also do commercial work such as the radio studios. We acted as the project architects. Innovators Interiors was founded in 1988 and specialise in lightweight steel construction, broadcast and recording studios, reception counters, signage, and acoustics for the corporate market. Since 1990, due to market demand, the main focus of the company has progressed to the design, manufacture and supply of various acoustic treatments and finishes, acoustic panels, doors and windows, technical furniture and desks and equipment racks. Leon Coetser is the owner and founder of Innovators Interiors (also my father). What was the brief? To redesign the look and feel of the studios, modernizing the interior and adding digital signage and screening for information and branding. The studios had to be state-ofthe-art in order to see the brands through for the next 8-10 years. The new studio had to be planned in such a way for better manoeuvrability than the previous studio designs, while glass fronts and video 26 africandesignmagazine.com