Baía Mall Project, Maputo - Mozambique.

In the second half of 2017, AE Plastics was contracted by Stefanutti Stocks, in co-ordination with DBM architects and Metrum project management, to be the selected signage supplier for their Baia Mall Project in Maputo.

Baia Mall is a new 25,000m² shopping centre on the main tourist stretch of Maputo’s seafront, Avenida Marginal. The initial overall project cost for the centre was 55 million USD.

AE Plastics was involved on a full service basis on the signage for this project, which saw design, prototyping, manufacturing and installation being included in the scope of works. Additional to the mall signage, AE Plastics was also awarded the contract for supply and installation of fire signage for the centre as well as most of the shops within the centre.

Through consultation with the Architect a vision was born to apply the existing logo into the design elements of the signage, bringing in the turquoise blue of the ocean, and the reds and yellows of the rising sun into the design of signage for the centre. The main logo and its rounded shape in turn became echoed through the curvature on directional and internal signage. The entrance directional pylons were inspired by the shape of the sails of the small boats often seen in the bay, and taking all of this into account ensured that there is a seamless flow and cohesion between the beautiful vistas just steps from the centre and the signage.

The manufacturing took place at the AE production facility in Wadeville, South Africa, and top of the range LBY LEDs and components were used on this project. The installations were handled both by riggers from South Africa, as well as riggers from local installers in Maputo. When doing business outside of South Africa, AE believes in empowering local installers. This approach has also had the benefit over years that relationships have been built up with installers in much of Africa.

The project, through many facets and phases, was managed by a team that had their work cut out for them from the outset. They successfully managed the project comprising of more than 800 individual signs, through development, production, logistics, and finally installation. Their efforts were of course notable but the success of the project would not have been possible without the support of superb production and manufacturing staff members in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

In short, Baia Mall has been a triumphant project for AE, and certainly one to be proud of. As the sun rises over the Bay of Maputo, we see a bright future ahead…