The development of high quality, contemporary interiors and the intelligent planning of space requires a special sort of approach to architectural interior design.
One practice where this seems to occur in abundance is Hermantes Basha. The two directors, Venessa Hermantes and Rachel Basha both trained and worked in Sydney, Australia but did not in fact meet until they were working in London for a large architectural practice.
Venessa and Rachel explain, “We were both working for a large multi-disciplinary architecture and design practice in London but we reached a point where we felt that we could make the leap into our own practice. We could develop our fresh, innovative style and offer a high level of professionalism with more personal service to our Clients. Our skills in running and delivering large complex projects could benefit our new Clients for every scale of project.
In the four years that we have been running the practice, we have built up a solid rapport with a wide range of blue chip Clients. These range from the Total Gas and Power to Drivers Jonas Deloitte, from Great Ormond Street to the Somerset House. In addition to this we have completed a wide range of high end private residential projects.”
One of the more interesting recent assignments was for the new corporate headquarters for The Byrne Group in London. The Company had been in historically old buildings and Venessa and Rachel were charged with the refurbishment and fit-out of 30,000 sqft of office accommodation over four floors with three inter connecting buildings. This new headquarters consolidates two of the Byrne Group’s businesses under one roof and included planning for a new entrance façade and core intervention. This core intervention involved the demolition of an existing central part of the building and the construction of a new service core that met the current building regulations. Additional accommodation included conference suites, staff café, training rooms, breakout spaces, IT facilities and unique WC facilities. However, there was more to the success of the project than just bricks and mortar.”
Another interesting project has been Penton Lake, in a beautiful location on the banks of the River Thames in West London. This was a rather uninspiring four-bedroom bungalow, which has been extended cleverly within the existing build boundaries by 22% – creating a new, double height contemporary kitchen/dining space, an additional bedroom and two additional ensuite bathrooms. The redesign of this house created a dramatic conversion to an inspirational contemporary way of living. Hermantes Basha connected the house to its stunning location giving it an abundance of natural light with views back to the river. Large external sliding doors introduced a strong physical and visual connection to the landscape and the river beyond. In opening up the interior, the opportunity was taken to use double height windows and roof lights to dramatically increase the amount of natural light entering the building. Internally, cutting edge bathroom design features as well as carefully detailed joinery solutions to meet the personal needs of the Client.
Returning to Rachel and Venessa, “We believe our experience of highly challenging projects has given us a detailed knowledge and understanding, not just creating the visual side of interior design, but also ensuring build-ability and carefully considered integration of services within a building. Our happy Clients appreciate our ability to juggle the varying roles to ensure the project runs smoothly and is delivered on time, within budget. Completing a beautiful interior is a given.”
The future looks bright for Hermantes Basha as they are currently working on a number of exciting projects within the hotel, retail and leisure sectors plus some innovative workplace projects. Their business has developed strongly in difficult times with many repeat Clients returning along with many word of mouth recommendations. Our approach is to give Clients solutions beyond their expectations as well as making the duration of the project an enjoyable journey. We love to challenge the traditional ways of thinking and to bring in a breath of fresh air!”
For further information ring 0207 562 4250 or visit www.hermantesbasha.com.
