The new London headquarters of cycling accessories manufacturer, Rapha, has an eye-catching reception area thanks to specialist coatings from Bradite Paints.
Visitors to the building will walk a path covered in painted slogans, in a nod to the DIY signage that cycling fans use to decorate the routes of their favourite road races, such as the Tour de France. A brightly painted Citroën Type ‘H’ van provides another reference to the home of this iconic race.
London-based designers, Many Hands Studio, worked in collaboration with graphic design and branding agency, BCMH, to produce the new HQ’s interior.
Luke James from Many Hands explains: “The ‘H’ van was to be the centrepiece on the ground floor of the new HQ. It was broken down into panels with each showcasing one of Rapha’s legendary jerseys. We didn’t want to spray the van as we felt that would be at odds with the artisan approach we wanted to adhere to.”
For the ‘painted road’, the designers recreated the fan slogans applied throughout the thousands of kilometres of the Tour.
“We used Bradite’s ‘Floor-It’ for the lettering,” says Luke. “It had a lovely flow and is extremely hard-wearing which was ideal for an area with heavy footfall. It also dried quickly which was important as they needed to use the area soon after installation.”
Floor-It has a low-odour acrylic formulation that is non-yellowing, extremely durable with excellent adhesion and stain- and mark-resistance.
