SOURCE IBA
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Cape Town firm
S ource I B A c o n t i n u e s t o e x pa n d
The good times continue to roll for Source Interior Brand Architects (Source IBA), an interior architecture and design firm which offers a total design package across the hospitality, leisure, corporate, civic and retail industries.
By Marie Toms 2
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Source IBA focus property
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ith investment into the African continent booming, this is a good time for property developers and interior architecture firms alike. One of Cape Town’s most famous, Source IBA, is a specialist interior architecture group whose approach to design is to remain internationally relevant, whilst drawing on Africa as a constant source of inspiration. Needless to say, it is a firm in demand. The group’s portfolio includes a host of corporate and hospitality developments, such as 15 on Orange, The Westin Cape Town, Arabella Sheraton Kleinmond Spa, Kempinski Mokuti Lodge, Park Inn by Radisson Sandton, Radisson Blu Hotel Port Elizabeth, Southern Sun Hyde Park, Virgin Atlantic Lounge, Virgin Spa as well as offices for JP Morgan, Mastercard, Tebfin and Fusion – all successfully completed using a unique methodology, which has become the hallmark of the Cape Town-based firm. “In our view, a designer acts as a filter for various inspirations and ideas, creating something unique and new,” says Jeremy Stewart, the firm’s founder. “We are inspired by Africa yes, totally, and other influences, and we believe our role or mission is to create new, modern design styles, recognising all influences, such as European, classical, colonial and African. But we aren’t copycats. We want a unique feel. “I see things as more of a methodology, filtering ideas, looking for what works, rather than a specific design or style.” This method has worked well for Source IBA, which was set up in 2002 after the team saw a gap in the market for “South African and African design with integrity”. “Our brand originates out of the belief that Africa is a fountain of creativity and inspiration. We have studios in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and the team consists of many multi–disciplined and
talented staff members; it is the most talented team I have ever worked with.” The work is flooding in, more and more of which is coming from Africa. “We continue to expand across Africa. When we started, I’d probably say 90 percent of our work was within the borders of South Africa. Now, 70 percent of our work is outside our borders. There is still growth in Africa as whole and South Africa is a gateway to that huge opportunity.” There are growth opportunities closer to home too, Stewart says. “Generally speaking things are very good given the global economic situation. We’ve maintained growth, but the areas of growth are slightly different. On the hospitality side for instance, most work would come from hotels directly, through the relationships we’ve built up. Now we’re getting access to the developers and funders of potential projects directly and so the circle is starting to close in the sense that our name is starting to come up on both sides of the development relationship. That’s been good for us so we’ve increased our market on that level. “We’re also starting to find that the market in South Africa is picking up slowly and business is picking up. We have picked up accounts with MasterCard, for example, and we’re looking at doing offices for those and others also. Corporate business is improving.” Stewart says the advantage of working with multinationals is that as they grow, you can grow with them. “As these firm’s grow and you build a relationship, they recognise you can handle their interior solutions. It can be very rewarding.” Mr Stewart is very proud of the work Source IBA does and is always on the lookout for new, challenging projects. “A main criteria for deciding to come on board a project is that it has to be stimulating and challenging – a process that will teach us something. www.southafricamag.com
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“For example, when Virgin approached us for the Virgin Atlantic Lounge we had never done anything like it before and took it on wholeheartedly – for us the most exciting projects are types we have never embarked on before. We started by analysing the profile of a typical traveller and then set about designing a space that would suit their needs. In a space as stressful as an airport lounge, it is all about helping the traveller to chill out. It was challenging and very, very interesting.” One challenge is communication. The firm has been picking up work in a number of French and Portuguese speaking nations – and language can be a barrier. “We are typically used to operating in English. We now find ourselves predominately working in French and Portuguese, so the focus the past year has been looking for staff who have those language skills. We do have a staff member who can speak Portuguese in our Johannesburg office, and we have resources to translate our documentation into French. Currently we have someone
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in the Netherlands who translates our documentations for us, he’s actually an exstaff member who had to relocate back to the Netherlands.” He says another challenge centres on having “the right people on the ground”. “You need someone on the ground that can represent you everyday and that can drive the momentum on a daily basis while we’re off jetting around looking for new projects. It’s a challenge but we’re getting there slowly.” What’s the secret to the firm’s success? “We’ve been fortunate,” Stewart says. “You’ve got to have your foot on the pedal all the time with the way the market is at the moment. You’ve got to be very careful about growth and you’ve got to be careful because growth, with the current market, can be detrimental. Last year we had three major projects slip away. Those three major projects would have represented jobs and opportunities for three staff members. It seems like small numbers but it terms of designers it’s quite significant.”
Source IBA focus property
Despite the obvious success, Stewart doesn’t have an ego. And it isn’t all about him. He and his partners – Evon Smuts-Rogers in the Cape Town studio and Andrew Merrington and Peta Bank in the Johannesburg studio – always attribute Source IBA’s successes to the team as a whole. “A combination of interior design and interior architecture, Source IBA is involved in maximising the architectural envelope by designing from the inside out. Each designer plays a huge part in that. “We have an ethos of doing the best work with the best brands, working on the right challenging project and that, I think, is what is behind our success – we push ourselves and strive for better; we never stop developing or pushing the envelope in interior design.” Stewart has always had a passion for art and architecture and says that awareness of the services Source IBA offer has much improved over the last decade. “Most people ask the question ‘what does an interior architect do?’ and they are always surprised by just how much goes into what we do and how far it goes. For us, the process starts early on, when we meet the architects and come up with a design that starts from the inside out in an attempt to maximise the building’s functionality. I have to stress that we are not architects – we would never pretend to be and we’d never pretend we had the same skills as them, as we don’t; rather, we work with them to maximise a building’s potential.” END To learn more visit www.sourceiba.co.za
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Unit A 304, 3rd Floor The Armoury Building Buchanan Square 160 Sir Lowry Road Woodstock Tel: +27 21 461 9998 Fax: +27 86 655 7040 Email: info@sourceiba.co.za
www.sourceiba.co.za