Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa March/April 2015 | Page 75

KEVIN BATES / ALBERT CARPETS Brandon: 082 577 2402 [email protected] Kevin Bates / Albert Carpets (KBAC) are proud to complete another quality Interface installation in the private dining rooms at Standard Bank Market Square. The stunning blue Net Effect carpet is one of a superb range of environmentally friendly products offered in the Interface range by KBAC, the Interface distributor in South Africa. KBAC have branches in Johannesburg and Cape Town are are able to supply and install both local and imported products nationwide. Progressing deeper into the space, a semi-private dining area is provide where to-order meals can be placed and is where many a breakfast or lunch meeting will take place with clients and external colleagues. In addition, private dining rooms were provided to allow business meetings to be held here without risk of information being inadvertently shared with the adjacent table. Both the semi-private dining and private dining rooms were positioned immediately adjacent to where staff were enjoying their mid day meal. Interestingly, the private dining rooms and semi-private dining area received a state-of-the-art carpet finish to the floor to bring a superior level of comfort to the area. The specific carpet used, Net Effect One, was interesting in that it used a high percentage of recycled fishing nets in its composition. This formed part of a drive by its manufacturer, Interface, to reduce the amount of waste fishing nets littering the oceans of the world and as such everyone enjoyed bringing this depth of social responsibility into the product specification of the Market Square. The inclusion of a Grab ’n Go facility within the heart of the restaurant allowed for customers to interact with personnel as their food was prepared to order. This portion of the restaurant included freshly prepared meal of the day options and also prepackaged on-the-go food offerings. The smells emanating form this area on a daily basis are truly magnificent and entice customers to come in and satisfy that lingering hunger or urge for something sweet. A deli also resides here and Market Square prepares take away style fresh sandwiches and roasted/baked goods while you wait. The main seating area of the restaurant was visually enhanced through the use of dynamic ceiling features. These served to tone down the perceived vastness of the large seating areas and created defined points of interest for the user. This directly tied into Standard Bank’s strong views on the quality of space provided for its staff to utilize within the building. A special feature of the design was the introduction of tree like structures that rise from the floor and spread their branches across the ceiling. The use of light oak timber for these and many of the other timber finishes in the restaurant introduced light neutral tones into the design of the Market Square. This served to contrast the dark timber tones used elsewhere in the building thereby offering the building occupants a varying environment within which to conduct their daily activities. Savile Row was fortunate to be given the opportunity to incorporate an existing external terrace into the scope of accommodation and weather permitting, this deck enabled the restaurant to be fully opened up to the external environment. The deck area also serves to attract users to relax at the end of a busy day and enjoy a refreshing drink with colleagues while watching the sun set over Rosebank and the public Piazza in front of the building. The response from users has been exceptional and The Market Square is poised to be a positive space for the bank to be proud of and enjoy well into the future. SAVILE ROW TAILORED ENVIRONMENTS Tel: [phone] www.savilerow.co.za Savile Row is a multidisciplinary design practice that has three core areas of specialisation to address design for work, home and leisure. Each discipline benefits from the knowledge, research and testing of the other. We work and collaborate with clients across the globe and deliver projects in Africa from our base in Johannesburg. Our clients expect more than design: workspaces that enhance productivity and are as functional as they are inspiring, hospitality spaces that redefine comfort and guest experience, homes that elevate quality of land and stand the test of time. 75