Christa Ella Interior Architecture (CEIA), the Harare based interior designers recently worked on Uhambo Lounge (By Rouxgold Travel), a premium client and one of the premium destinations for a relaxed stopover before one takes their flight journey at Harare’s Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

CEIA dug deep into their creative fountain to weave stunning designs, transforming the interiors of this well-appointed location in the newly unveiled International Departure Wing of the international airport.

In this Q & A, our writer gives you a more intimate understanding of this rising interior architecture firm.

The company and its philosophy:

What inspired you to start Christa Ella Interior Architects?
Christa Ella Interior Architects was founded to answer the gap in the interior architectural market in the Southern Africa. The market in Zimbabwe, for example, has a healthy amount of Architects, Engineers and the technical professionals in the construction value chain. There is also a number of talented interior designers and decorators that finish
of the spaces created by those technical professionals very well. However, there are very few professionals that intertwine the skills of the architect with the finesse and flare of the interior designer. We started a studio to address that gap.

Tell us about your background in architecture and interior design?

As Christa Ella Interior Architect’s (CEIA), we started out doing high-end residential projects in 2021 and then evolved to take on retail, hospitality and in recent times corporate projects.

The lead designer and founder Chiedza Mulilo is an award winning, Interior Architecture graduate of the acclaimed design university Limkokwing University (LUCT).

Having had experience designing multi-storey corporate spaces for the-then upcoming CBD of Botswana between 2015 and 2018, she leads the design team from a place of confidence and experience.

Her extensive experience in the carpentry and stone masonry industry from 2019 -2021 also contributes to the team’s ability to design custom fittings, with a knowledge of its assembly thereafter.

The CEIA design team now comprises of architects, interior designers, carpenters and stone masons that fuse to make extra-ordinary solutions.

How would you describe the unique style and aesthetic of Christa Ella?

We don’t claim a particular style. We aim to always answer the design brief to best suit the need/ style required for the particular project in question. We believe good design is not about the designer but about the client, their needs and the needs of the users.

Explain a bit about the services offered by your company.

We offer a turnkey interior solution summed up in the mantra “Concept crafted into reality”. We create a concept as informed by the brief, then create the build and workshop drawings needed to execute the concept

How important is it to align the interior design with the brand identity of the client?

Can you elaborate on the challenges and rewards of working on high-end projects?

What is your design philosophy when working on high-end commercial spaces like Uhambo Lounge?

The design process:

From start to finish, we like to hold our client’s hand till they the concept is executed fully

How do you incorporate client feedback and preferences into the design process?

At design stage we take all the client’s thoughts into consideration, however, we always guide these contributions with our professional advice to ensure we still adhere sound design principles. At installation stage, we do final snag and handover with the client to inform the client how to use the installed product, and we are always on speed dial attend to any issues that may arise.

How do you balance functionality and aesthetics in your designs?

In design school they teach ‘Form Follows Function’. We adhere to this 100%. When we design we start with a skeletal plan, this addresses the functionality of the space or fitting. Once that is settled, we then ‘dress’ the solution using our knowledge of materials and how they behave with the conditions in the space, for instance, light, load stress, rub counts, etc.

What role does sustainability and eco-friendly design play in your projects?

Africa needs to start doing its part in sustainable design. Our fore-fathers used to build mud huts, and use clay utensils. They did a better job than us with regards to eco-friendly design. We have, in recent times , begun to take a closer look at the material composition of products we specify in our designs. From fabric composition to the hard finish products, we have started to take a closer look a VOC emissions, indoor plant incorporation, energy efficient fit-outs, and so on.

We have found the benefits of designing with GREEN STAR Interior Requirements both for our client with regard to the power consumption of the space, as well as the users with regard to indoor air quality, lighting comfort and more.

How do you stay updated with the latest interior design trends?

Our team has attended design expos locally and outside our boarders. A designer is only as good as the knowledge of what is available on the market. We meet with trade experts ever so often. In recent times we had Acura Group, (a South African procurement company that does import procurement and logistics for our projects), facilitate the internationally acclaimed Aurora Lighting Group to educate us on lighting simulations for architectural lighting. Relationships like this help us stay ahead of the curve when it comes to product knowledge.

Specific projects:

What were the specific design challenges and goals for the Uhambo project?

We came in to design the airport lounge as a second bidder. The first design company had the privilege of seeing the space, taking their own measurements and seeing the structure before embarking on design.
We however, came in later in the game, meaning we did not have the same privileges of time at site appreciation. We had the challenge of designing from just pictures and a sketch plan of the room.

The client’s goal was to create a sense of opulence and luxury. We needed to come up with a concept within a week. Our team never backs away from a challenge and we managed to do just that.

How did you create a luxurious and inviting atmosphere at the Uhambo Lounge?

The immediate thing we noticed when we saw the space, was that we needed to recreate the lighting simulations . The existing lighting would not work for the environment we wanted to create.

We started by wiring the whole room to allow for power and lighting design as we imagined it. We installed luxurious gold downlight fixtures, created accents lighting features and treated the glazing with luxurious velvet drapery.

We then treated the walls and ceilings with Hertex wall fabrics and dark paint tones to create a sense of opulence in the space This was coupled with dark wood tones and the main feature wall finished with a hand-made bronze ceramic tile specially fast-tracked for us by our amazing suppliers in South Africa.

What was the inspiration behind the design of Uhambo Lounge, and how did you incorporate the travel theme?

The Uhambo lounge client was Rouxgold Travel. They run the operational aspect of the business lounge in partnership with Airport Ground Services (AGS). The design brief was informed by Rouxgold Travel. We had the privilege of meeting the Founder and Director of Rouxgold Holdings at one of the initial consultations.

Here, we picked up that she was a woman of taste and effortless elegance; yet she was also a young spirit with a strong dislike of cliché or ‘off-the-mill’ solutions. Because she is the bedrock of the Rouxgold brand, we then created our design around her taste as follows.

The dazzling feature wall that meets the guests as they enter is inspired by the elegant appeal of the Rouxgold brand.

5. Ensure staff have adequate facilities to provide the necessary service
6. Ensure passenger stay entertained but informed about their travel, flights, etc.

We found a way to do so by using short dividers to cordon off spaces between bar,individual seater spaces,dining/desk stations and lounge seating areas. We used the same dividers to run power from one of the room to the other end in a stealthy manner.

Whilst we gave the client liberty to procure their own loose furnishings, we zoned out the spaces using semi-visual partitions where they could place various seating mixes. These semi-visual partitions allowed the space to divided without creating full divisions within the space.

Impact and future:

How has working on high-end projects like Uhambo Lounge impacted your firm?
This project has allowed us access to projects of similar affluence and beyond. We have gained recognition with international companies that have engaged us to design for their local branches and more.

What kind of impact do you believe your designs have on the overall customer experience?
Our designs try to make the users feel like they have stepped into a new world. Wherever the physical location of the building, when you step into a Christa Ella designed space, we aim for the user to feel they are in a special space and thus add a bit of panache to the way they carry themselves thereafter!

How do you measure the success of a project?

1. Client satisfaction
2. Adherence to design specification
3. User experience when they initially enter the space, and their continual satisfaction thereafter

What are the future plans for your firm?

We intend to set our roots deeper in the Zimbabwean market. We have plans to expand our fitting expertise and introduce interior build solutions that are coming up on the international scene.
What advice would you give to aspiring interior designers?

1. Don’t let present circumstances hold you back. Find a way forward- there is always a way.
2. The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and opportunity happen to them all. Be ready to harness opportunity when it comes your way because the time will surely come.
3. Pursue interior design as if its your innate calling and not just to make money. Do it this way, you’ll come out on top.

• The fun/youthful CNC panelling on the backside of the feature wall breaks off the sophistication and invites the patron to
‘put their feet up and relax’.
• The blue backlit bar allows the adults
in the room to have their own reclusive corner where they can unwind, whilst the lounge areas are family friendly and suitable for the family travellers.
• The infinity mirror above the food server is a metaphor for the infinite experiences the travellers will embark on during their travel.

How did you create a sense of space and comfort in the relatively small area of the Lounge?

Our lounge was one of the smaller business lounge spaces at the RGM Airport. At first glance this seemed like a downside, but we then realised we had the advantage of a fully glazed side wall, we got excited. The glazed wall opens up to a private outdoor space at the end of the building.

This meant that we could install beautiful, heavy sun-block drapery to create a luxury hotel feel, but as and when desired, the same drapery could be opened up to and bring a generous amount of natural light and make the lounge airy, light and pleasant. This was a bonus for us!

How did you manage to balance the practical aspects of a business lounge with the aesthetic appeal of the same?
The practical aspects were to:

1. To create seating for up to 40 passengers and not have them feel like they are in each other’s space.
2. To ensure each passenger has their own power for charging phones, laptops, etc.
3. Create several serving point for food and drink.
4. Create a seating mix for individual flyers, family and business passengers.

Text by Martin Chemhere

From S&D ISSUE 67