The Evolution of a Retail Design Identity
At River Quarter, Eva-Last VistaClad carries Food Lover’ s Market’ s familiar timber aesthetic into a durable, lower-maintenance façade.
Food Lover’ s Market has come a long way from its beginnings as Fruit & Veg City in 1993. As the retailer has evolved, so too has the architectural language of its stores – combining a contemporary retail experience with the warmth, texture and organic character associated with fresh produce.
This identity was first strongly expressed at the retailer’ s standalone Bothasig flagship, where lead architect Tim Hughes incorporated natural timber façades and greenery into a barn-inspired design. The concept proved successful enough to become an architectural reference for subsequent Food Lover’ s Market developments.
For the new Food Lover’ s Village at River Quarter in Cape Town, the challenge was to retain this distinctive timber aesthetic while addressing practical considerations around the sustainability, cost, durability and ongoing maintenance of natural wood.
The solution was Eva-Last VistaClad Infinity bamboo composite cladding in Teak, specified for the 778m 2 retail project, which was completed in 2025.
Used vertically across the shopfront, the VistaClad Infinity Teak-toned cladding introduces warmth and visual rhythm to the façade, softening the surrounding retail architecture while providing a strong backdrop to the Food Lover’ s Market signage. The result carries the established natural aesthetic into a distinctly contemporary setting.
Combining recycled plastic with renewable bamboo fibres, the Infinity profile provides the warmth and character of timber through streaked, two-tone colour technology and a brushed wood-look
finish. A protective polymer cap provides additional resistance to moisture, UV exposure, fading and insects – all important considerations for an exterior commercial application.
Beyond aesthetics, the VistaClad system provides a considered façade solution. Interlocking profiles clip onto concealed top-hat fixing strips, while the system accommodates drainage and ventilation behind the boards. Aluminium trims and flashing adaptors finish corners, joins and edges, creating a clean architectural finish while helping manage water run-off and ingress.
The resulting vertical timber-look façade reinforces Food Lover’ s Market’ s established architectural identity while providing a lower-maintenance alternative to natural wood.
“ We’ ve been so impressed with the performance and appearance of Eva- Last’ s VistaClad system at Food Lover’ s Market River Quarter that we are using it for two new centres in Johannesburg,” says Hughes.
For specifiers, Food Lover’ s Market at River Quarter demonstrates how material innovation can preserve a strong design language while responding to the practical performance demands of contemporary retail architecture. www. eva-last. co. za
22 Advertorial