— Europa – Shopping Center
We designed the "Europa" shopping center from scratch. We erected, on a simple square plot, a simple three-story building.
With a hypermarket located on the ground floor and a multiplex cinema with a grand food court on the third floor. The single main façade is the most powerful one. The building is located at the main junction that joins the northern and western parts of the city.
Concept –
The Facade Makes it All
3-D perforation
“We managed to create the effect of an almost floating building; it seems to be detached from the ground, a little bit like a big-box hovering in the air. This is thanks to the glazed ground floor with its recessed façade.”
The perforation looks as if a piece has been cut out and bent around the outside and left there, sticking out. To emphasize the effect, we have painted one side of each element with a bright red color, creating a simple but effective façade detail.
The building seems to be detached from the ground, a little bit like a big-box hovering in the air.
This is thanks to the glazed ground floor with its recessed façade. The second and third levels are supported by the V-shaped columns and huge three-dimensional logotype with the name of the shopping center.
The design idea for the façade came about as a result of playing with the two main viewpoint directions from that route. The rectangular-shaped façade was divided diagonally into a lower and an upper part.
The lower part was pivoted toward the east and the upper part toward the west. The perforation of the façade gives it a 3-D aspect, especially at night when the light plays off it - creating a colorful spectacle behind the wall and through the perforation.
Conversation —
Simple square plot
The "Europa" shopping center involved creating a brand new building on a simple square plot. What did you decide on for the design of the building and what was the motivation behind it?
To suit the simple square plot, we created a simple three-story building with a hypermarket located on the ground floor and a multiplex cinema with a grand food court on the third floor. The single main façade is the most powerful feature of the design. The building is located at the main junction that joins the northern and western part of the city and the location is basically what inspired the design. The idea for the façade came about as a result of playing with the two main viewpoint directions from that route.
Tell us more about this façade, what does it look like?
It’s a rectangular-shaped façade which we divided diagonally into a lower and an upper part. The lower part was pivoted toward the east and the upper part toward the west. The façade is perforated to give it a 3-D aspect, so although it seems like a simple design, the perforation allows light to play off the building, creating a colorful spectacle behind the wall and through the perforation.
How does the perforation work in terms of design?
It’s designed to look as if a piece was cut out the building then bent around the outside and left there, sticking out. We used color to emphasize the effect, by painting one side of each element with a bright red color, creating a simple but effective façade detail.
So although you say you created a simple building, there is actually a lot of clever design aspects that prevent it from becoming too simple, or plain perhaps. What other design aspects draw attention to the building?
We managed to create the effect of an almost floating building; it seems to be detached from the ground, a little bit like a big-box hovering in the air. This is thanks to the glazed ground floor with its recessed façade. The second and third levels are supported by the V-shaped columns and huge three-dimensional logotype with the name of the shopping center.
Does the façade feature any logos?
No, in fact we managed to keep the front façade almost free of shops’ logos. Instead the logos are placed on the sides of the building which means they are more visible when approaching the building both from the east and the west.
Very clever. Thank you for explaining the project to me.