Bon Marche Avondale

Recently OK Zimbabwe Limited has embarked on a project to renovate and improve all their existing stores and the Avondale branch was selected as the flagship for Bon Marche’s upgrades. We were commissioned to enlarge the supermarket and bring its image up to regional and international standards. They also wanted the new store to make a statement within the Avondale Shopping Centre proclaiming itself as a cut above the rest of the surrounding shops.

The old structure was originally split in two with a diagonally angled front on the right hand side. The open space created by the angled shop fronts was taken up by parking bays. Nyatsanza Architects’ solution was to create a single unified façade extending the whole width of the building and incorporating the parking space into the interior of the store.

The natural light from the high glass windows, or vertical skylights, helps to make the fruit and veg look particularly attractive and accentuates the bright colors of the produce. It set the tone for the rest of the shop emphasizing wholesome freshness and goodness. The new section doesn’t have a suspended ceiling, instead the full height of the roof can be seen adding to a more spacious and open feel.