PROJECTS
The hotel caters to millennial and business travellers.
mild steel exposed bringing the urban feel concept to life.
“Some of the ceilings and service infrastructure were left
exposed and painted to blend into the design,” he shares.
Bergh adds that all the shop fitting elements were
designed to be easily removed which means that when the
space needs to be refurbished again in the future, the
elements can easily be taken off while the shell undergoes
building work, moved to a new location or absorbed into
another store.
MAKING THE MOST OF IT
Different kinds of timber were used to create a cool, urban feel.
Kiaat was used on all horizontal surfaces like table tops and
bar counter tops, poplar or American tulipwood was used
on all vertical panels on the bar counter and on secondary
elements like wall hung tables. Pine was used on the barista
bulkhead. “We also put a lot of emphasis on texture and
layering it into the design to give an urban feel reflective of
the location,” he adds.
According to Bergh, use of the kiaat table and counter
tops left stock brick, polished granite, leather and painted
With the café located in the basement of the building C+B
had to ensure they dealt with all the challenges this posed.
“This meant that both old and new services required for
the hotel were in the ceiling and underneath the café. This
brought up a host of potential and unforeseen design
issues, so we did intensive site inspections to be able to
deal with design solutions on the spot, as they came up,”
Bergh explains.
Early involvement in the project granted them the
opportunity to work with the project architect and
contractor to design around the area. The contractor’s skills,
expertise and willingness were key in dealing with
challenges. “Corne Mol from Arepo Project Management,
Construction and Shopfitting was instrumental to the
success of the project.”
Some of the issues they experienced around timber
installation included tops that were sanded and oiled and
stored overnight on site. “We had challenges around dust
and finishing off the tops in external areas, in this case, a
public street and parking area,” says Bergh. The bulkhead
purlins had to be cut into smaller lengths to avoid twisting
of the longer members.
OVERALL LOOK AND FEEL
Bergh says that this is the type of project that the C+B team
enjoys working on the most and that the synergy and
// APRIL / MAY 2018 27