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Avril Supermarché Santé – Place de la Cité
By : Aedifica
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Interior Design
Categories : Commercial Space / Grocery Store : Silver Certification
For its third store in the Quebec City area, Avril has chosen to set up shop on the ground floor of Place de la Cité in Sainte-Foy. With a surface area of +/- 40,000 square feet, this store is the new Avril flagship in the Quebec City area, the 2nd largest of the chain and the 2nd store to be integrated in a shopping center after the one on Promenades Saint-Bruno.
The configuration of the space and its geographic location within the mall presented unique constraints in terms of access points: a main entrance and facade with exterior parking on Laurier Boulevard; an interior lobby providing access to the mall’s parking deck; and new escalators linking the first floor to the main level of the mall.
The team’s approach began with a thoughtful analysis of the various traffic flows and customer pathways to determine how to adapt the planning of spaces, departments and functions to maximize the potential this site offered. After studying several scenarios, the solution that was adopted was to create a “gourmet boulevard” of more than 140 feet (44 m) that links the two entrances. This discovery axis allows for the presentation of fresh produce counters (fish, cheese, bakery, pastry) and bistro counters (ready to eat, pasta, pizza). The boulevard is punctuated by checkout areas at each end, each incorporating regular checkouts and, for the first time, self-service checkouts. At the heart of the boulevard are two wooden kiosks with a planted pergola: the first houses the coffee offer, the gelato counter and the juice bar, while the second is a 22-seat dining room.
To mark the exterior entrance on Laurier and soften the interface between the mall’s curtain wall and the parking lot, the team developed the concept of the new marquee, serving both as a showcase for the logo and also to provide a comfortable, human-scale space to house a 52-seat terrace, itself complementing the 111-seat bistro dining room.
The concrete structural framework and the slab-to-slab clear height of 17′-0″ also guided the design of the store. In particular, the spatial organization of the departments was oriented to the tighter grid of columns. The exposed concrete of the columns and ceiling was modulated in 2 shades of grey to enhance the perception of height while maintaining the raw character of the surfaces, in contrast to the other architectural components of the store.
A new lighting strategy was developed with CS Design to create a distinctive motif for the central boulevard while respecting the store’s lighting rhythm and highlighting the concrete structure and planting with a combination of direct/indirect lighting.
A graphic approach is deployed in the space, both in the architecture with the wooden pergolas, kiosks and walls along the moving stairs. This approach continues in the graphic communication and large wall illustrations with a clean monochromatic concept that punctuates the interior architecture, facilitates wayfinding and supports the brand identity.
Collaboration
