Kevin Bates Flooring & Carpeting supplied and installed bespoke floor covering, especially designed by Ege, one of Europe’s leading carpet producers based in Denmark, for the restoration and redecoration of the historic Wanooka House, now part of KPMG’s multi-million rand new East Campus in Parktown.
Kevin Bates has over the past few years supplied all the carpeting for the prestigious KPMG headquarters. The interior designer for the Old Mutual Property development, was Stuart Cloete of Plan IA; the architects, Impendulo Design Architects; and main contractor, Stefanutti Stocks. Brandon Park, Sales Director of Kevin Bates, says the company supplied 30 000sq m of carpeting for the entire KPMG head office campus project, of which 14 000sq m was The Netherlands-designed and -developed Interface carpet tiles which were installed from the outset of the project in the KPMG Crescent head office building; and 8 000sq m of the Danish Ege bespoke carpet tiles, especially designed for installation in the restored Wanooka House in St Andrew’s Road and pedestrian bridge that links it to the KPMG main complex.
Wanooka House, now used as executive entertainment area, was built in 1902 as home to several executives of the Central South African Railways.
Stuart Cloete of Plan IA, in his specification of the flooring for the refurbished Wanooka House, was keen to provide a link between the two KPMG campuses, and illustrate the history of both Wanooka House, and the growth of KPMG Johannesburg. “Ege Carpets was able to reproduce digital photos in carpet tiles from pictures Kevin Bates and I selected and e-mailed to Denmark. Finalising the design called for close liaison with the Danish carpet designers over two months but the end-result – incorporating visuals of Wanooka House, aerial and terrestrial views of the area around it, and the KPMG logo – was impressive,” Cloete explained.
The Interface carpet tiles specified to add splashes of colour were Interface’s Cubic and Time Warp ranges. Designer Stuart Cloete added: “The new offices of the KPMG East Campus were designed to be ‘fun places’ to work in. Splashes of colour were added against a very neutral architectural pallet, and areas were designed to allow the user to choose the space he or she wants to work in. It was very gratifying to be given free designing reins by the client and I believe as a result the design, and the choice of carpeting, have combined to provide KPMG with a building that represents a truly great – and unique - working environment.”