HFA Architects and Engineers in alliance with Bona Design Lab
Two companies have partnered in a move designed to better serve their clients in the convenience store channel.
HFA Architects and Engineers and Bona Design Lab have formed an alliance that combines HFA's fully-integrated architecture, engineering and construction project delivery process with Bona's global experience in retail branding and new format design. The partnership will enable the companies to offer end-to-end solutions for customers’ freestanding c-store projects as well as larger sites incorporating stores, drive-thru windows, fuel (petroleum and electric vehicle charging) and other services.
While the two companies will continue to operate independently, the partnership allows clients of both firms to draw upon the decades of experience gained from HFA's 10,000-plus projects across all 50 states and Bona's work across 50 countries on five continents. HFA and Bona have previously collaborated on projects for such clients as Maverik and Global Partners.
"With technology playing an increasingly critical role in virtually every aspect of the retail proposition—and competition intensifying—convenience retail companies have grown to recognize the need to streamline their project development process," said James Owens, AIA, VP of HFA, which has offices in Boston; Bentonville, Ark.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Mexico City. "We are excited for this partnership because it allows our two firms to leverage each other's talents and expertise to improve the overall speed-to-market for clients looking to execute faster and more aggressive project schedules.”
The alliance will allow for the integration of the back-end project delivery process with front-end strategy, which will ultimately lead to more innovative and forward-thinking solutions for clients, according to Joseph Bona, president of New York-based Bona Design Lab.
"Good design is never good enough,” Bona said. “We believe that building construction efficiencies into the creative process will ultimately lead to better-designed stores that function more efficiently and will save clients time and money. Branding and architecture are no longer seen as two separate disciplines, but rather one fully integrated process."
HFA and Bona Design Lab will share a joint exhibit at the National Association of Convenience Stores' 2021 NACS Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, October 5-8.