Basha-Franklin is a London-based interior design and architecture agency whose clients include Landsec, Canary Wharf Group, Related Argent and Morgan Capital. It was co-founded in 2007 by Australia-born Rachel Basha, who tells us how a client recommendation, an unexpected hire, and a moment of frustration shaped her studio.
1. A difficult time in Australia led to a big move across the world
My father died in 2000, then I broke up with a long-term partner and I was unhappy in my job. This all motivated me to make a major shift to shake off what was a depressing period of my life.
My career was going well in Australia, but I craved exploring the real design experiences in Europe that I could only get from magazines or the internet. By 2002, I was nearing my 30th birthday and needed that major change. I moved to the UK thinking it would be for two years maximum – it’s now been over 22 years!
I worked in a big practice, Llewelyn Davies Yeang (now Llewelyn Davies), met great new friends and industry contacts, and everything quickly started to fall into place. By 2007, I had the confidence to start this studio. As a self-starter, I’ve proved that it’s possible to do all this without long-term connections and funds, but with determination, passion and grit.
Creating a multi-disciplinary studio was my ultimate goal. I believe that having interiors and architecture closely linked is pivotal to the quality of building a user experience.
Llewellyn Davies was a multi-disciplinary studio for a time when I worked there, and I loved interacting with the wider team. Towards the end of my time there, the studio focused on architecture only, which I felt was a step backwards. But this made the opening for me to start a new studio.
2. When a key client recommended Basha-Franklin to another client, they had the basis of a good business.
For the first eight years, we worked with Canary Wharf Group (CWG) consistently. The Chairman, Sir George Iacobescu, and Chief Administrative Officer, Camille Waxer, were extremely supportive. We were almost like an in-house design studio for CWG.
Sir George introduced us to Brookfield, the Canadian investment group, who brought us in to design their European HQ at One Canada Square. We then designed Brookfield Properties’ head office in Citypoint, which won a Mixology Award. With these two clients, our profile started to rise.
3. A chance encounter turns into a key hire that strengthened the leadership team and the business.
In 2019, in a serendipitous moment, I met Nicola Osborn on a supplier trip to Amsterdam. We hit it off straight away.
Although I wasn’t planning to bring anyone new into the studio, I thought if I was, it would be someone like Nikki. I had admired from afar the projects she had worked on at Morey Smith.
I thought as creative director she would be a strong addition to the team. We needed leadership that was more than just me, and we needed a strong interior designer to run projects.
We’re very different – Nicola has skills that add value to the team. It’s important to have a variety of personalities in the leadership team in order to relate to different client types. She was also well-known in the industry and had her own profile and client base. When you hire a director, they need to be bringing in new opportunities.
4. Losing out on a major project pushed Basha to express her exasperation to the client. It was risky, but paid off.
We were introduced to Landsec in 2019 through Collins Construction, who brought us in as design partner on the delivery of Landsec’s flexible workplace offer Myo at 123 Victoria Street.
That led to a couple of other design projects with Landsec for projects in Paddington and the Strand.
In 2021 we were part of a bid to design a new Myo in an existing building in New Street Square, off Fleet Street. We threw everything we had into that bid but much to our devastation, we came a close second.
At the time we’d had a number of near misses with high-profile projects, and I was really at the end of my rope. We were also feeling bruised by the COVID fallout, and in a moment of frustration I vocalised to our Landsec client, “What do we need to do to win a project?”
Landsec knew we did good work, and knew we could deliver, so they looked for another opportunity for us. A few months later, we were appointed to design the Myo at One New Change near St Paul’s Cathedral. That project has further boosted the practice’s profile, and is short-listed for several awards. We’re very appreciative of the opportunity and we’re very loyal to this valued client.
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