Zimbabwe's second largest city and the nation's geographic hub, Bulawayo was once a royal village, the seat of the Ndebele dynasty until the British Colonial take-over in the late 19th century. Its name means "place of slaughter", was the royal kraal of the legendary Ndebele kings in the past, following a fierce Zulu battle for the land. It is also the countries second oldest city after Masvingo, but was Zimbabwe's first main town and remained so until it was surpasses by Harare (Salisbury) in the 1920s.

Today the city, with a population in excess of 1,000,000 is one of Zimbabwe's primary industrial centres, and frequently hosts major expositions and conventions. Bulawayo is noted for the exceptionally wide streets which were designed during the early trekking days to allow turning space for a wagon and its full harness of 18 oxen. Many chapters of Zimbabwe's history were written in this city which is still characterised by many old British colonial buildings, maintained by the Bulawayo City Council and landlords as heritage sites.

Despite its modern amenities, facilities and functions, Bulawayo boasts an array of old-fashioned sights, including a grand collection of turn-of-the-century buildings - a refreshing change from the glittering modernity of the capital city, Harare. The city also offers several fine museums, including the world-class Museum of Natural History, which focuses on Zimbabwe's wildlife, ethnography, history and culture.

Architecturally, Bulawayo possesses a diverse mix of old style buildings ranging from Victorian to post-modern contemporary. The scale of the buildings in the city create a synchronise harmony of contextual relationships in terms of height, scale and aesthetic. The city cannot boast of any skyscrapers, but the juxtaposition of old and new brings delight to any eye. It is a case of size not mattering. Though the city possesses an architectural style different from the younger Zimbabwean cities, it could do with a more contemporary flavour. Matching any new buildings with the existing ambience is a task one would hope it's emerging stock of architects will be able to tackle delicately.

For all its industrial might the city of Bulawayo is greatly disadvantaged by its lack of water. The Matabeleland South province has a harsh dry climate, that renders most of it suitable for cattle ranching as opposed to agrarian use. Plans for a pipeline from the ever flowing Zambezi River to supply the city with a sustainable and consistent provision of water are constantly ruined by bureaucracy. This has had an adverse effect on construction in the city, which lags far behind other cities.

Consequently, few buildings or urban design projects of note have been constructed in the city in recent times. The most noteworthy being the Bulawayo Centre (1996), designed by Mick Pearce (Pearce Partnership). The development comprises the largest mass single shopping mall complex in the city, and also includes a multi-cinema and entertainment complex as well as provision for offices.

Further out of the city, in the western 'high-density' suburb of Nkulumane, Old Mutual properties developed the Nkulumane Shopping Centre. It was designed along the lines of Westgate Centre with single storey walk through malls. The Pearce Partnership design had a lower budget than its Harare adversary, with low cost face brick finishes. It was completed in mid-1997.

Nicknamed 'Blu(e)s' the city has a unique vibe, that forsakes the superficiality of Harare but is still comfortable enough for the city slicker. If its water resource problems were sorted out in the near future, Bulawayo has the potential to blossom into a bubbly modern city. The key is to not lose the history and architectural character, that has been abandoned by many other African cities before in their quest to adopt foreign and unsuitable architectural forms.

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