Architect and Builder September/October 2015 | Page 67

NEWSWORTHY
ROCHE BOBOIS OPENS 1ST
STORE IN CAPE TOWN
The French luxury furniture brand
has opened in Gardens, Cape Town
50 years of iconic design
Roche

Bobois’

story

is

about

two families who were destined
to meet one another: the Roche
family and the Chouchan family.
In 1950, Jacques Roche bought
the old Alexandre Dumas Theatre
in Paris and opened up his first
showroom there.
At the same time, the Chouchans

INVESTING IN QUALITY
By avoiding all ostentation, and
relying on the impact of quality, Inhouse
Brand Architects has satisfied a top local
investment firm’s desire to appear modest,
yet substantial…
Inhouse Brand Architects was tasked
with creating a comfortable, international
standard office interior that reflected an
understated ethos. The client, a Cape Town
based top investment firm linked to its own
charitable foundation situated in adjoining
premises, wanted its office space to be
modest yet elegant.
Although an extremely successful firm, the client is equally invested in giving back, and
thus briefed Inhouse to champion quality over flashiness and to reflect a subtle tastefulness.
In order to reflect the client’s integrity and pursuit of quality, Inhouse focused on using
natural materials for their authenticity and warmth, across the 1000 square meter footprint.
Wood is prevalent in the interior scheme both as a material and a signature element, and all
the more notable because it is all sustainable timber. Inhouse carefully repurposed onceused timber from a demolition yard, cleaned it up, stripped it down to its natural form and
then installed it in the space.
Similarly, the feature wall in the reception area is made up of off-cuts of this same
reclaimed timber. Elsewhere, vertical timber slats act as screens shielding glass fronted
meeting rooms. These oak slats balance the need for privacy while also allowing a modicum
of transparency.
Thanks to the use of a more somber colour palette – evident in details like the dark
carpeting and ebony feature wall - the space gains instant gravitas. It has a neutral somewhat
masculine feeling. The adjoining foundation has a slight differentiation in terms of colour, and
has received a lighter treatment through the use of light greys. This gives the foundation
a softer, more feminine aspect.
The interiors were finished off with pieces from the company’s art collection, hung so
that the artworks enhance the interior scheme. www.inhouse.ws

Interior Watch

emigrated

from

Paris

opened

and

Russia
their

to
own

showroom called ‘Au Beau Bois’,
a name which would later evolve
into ‘Bobois’.
It was in 1960 that the two
pioneering families met at the
Copenhagen Furniture Fair where
they were both busy exploring
the

possibility

of

importing

Scandinavian furniture to France.
By 1961, they had already designed
their first collection together and
published their publicity campaign
in Elle magazine. An