An International Line-Up of New Shopping Centres Unveiled at MAPIC 2011

PARIS, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Shopping centres projects from around the world (including China, India, Brazil, Russia, and Germany) will be showcased at MAPIC 2011. Many of them are cross-border – planned by developers working outside their own countries.

"To remain competitive, developers are now ready to cross borders and set up in countries with high commercial potential and quality sites that guarantee profitability for developers, investors, and retail brands as they expand internationally," says Nathalie Depetro, Director of MAPIC.

As well as broadening their choice of location, most shopping centres now tend to combine leisure with shopping facilities, while ensuring that the new site is harmoniously embedded in its urban environment. As a result, shopping centres are becoming the new drivers of urban lifestyles as well as playing a major role in the city's economy.

Here are some examples of new shopping centre projects to be presented at MAPIC that illustrate these trends. To find more projects from 26 countries, click here.

Raffles City Hangzhou (China), presented by Capitamalls Asia Limited (Singapore)

Raffles City Hangzhou is an iconic mixed-use development in China's Hangzhou city, the capital of Zhejiang Province in east China and an hour's train ride from Shanghai's Hongqiao airport. Located at Hangzhou's up-and-coming Qianjiang New Town, a key business district, Raffles City Hangzhou comprises a shopping mall, residences, a hotel and offices. The development is set to be an all-in-one destination to shop, work, play and live in, when completed in 2013. With its outstanding architecture, the development will be an icon in the city. The design was inspired by the tides of the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, which surges inland from the sea and twists and narrows in the process. The graceful towers, with their community spaces and landscaped gardens at intermittent heights, reflect the wave-like motion of the river. The shopping mall, from basement one to level seven, takes up more than 111,483 m2. Basement one enjoys direct connectivity to future subway lines. Raffles City Hangzhou will house international fashion brands, a supermarket and entertainment facilities, such as a cinema.

Uberlandia Shopping (Brasil), presented by Sonae Sierra (Portugal)

This euro 62 million project in the Mineiro Triangle region in the south of the city of Uberlandia will spread over two floors covering 154,000 m2, containing 201 shops, 11 department stores, restaurants, a Walmart superstore and six new-generation cinemas. Uberlandia Shopping will include 2,400 parking spaces, and another park for bikes. Jose Quintela de Fonseca is responsible for the architecture and has been inspired by the lush local plant and tree life. He will design Uberlandia Shopping with the colours and textures typical of the area, using natural elements such as stone on the facade and in the hallways, together with the "Ipe" tree - a major symbol of local flora that is represented in the centre's logo. The design builds on asymmetry and geometric shapes to create large glazed areas that take advantage of natural light. The centre also applies modern solutions to reduce energy and water consumption and obtain ISO 14001 environmental certification. It also plans to include cutting-edge technical management systems, and a rain water collection facility for irrigation, site cleaning and fire-fighting services. The centre is scheduled to open in 2012.

Morocco Mall (Morocco) presented by Rising Star Arch. Davide Padoa of Design International (United Kingdom)

With a highly-innovative concept 'Retailtainment,' Morocco Mall is a large development that aims to revolutionize modern retail across North Africa and expects to draw 14 million visitors yearly. Located on the western outskirts of Casablanca, facing the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco Mall offers a unique mix of activities, positioning the mall as a destination where all target customer needs are met. The largest musical fountain in Africa, a spectacular one million litre aquarium with panoramic elevator that leads to four different food streets, exclusive services, famous luxury brands like Galleries Lafayette, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren, Zegna, Fnac, Gap – all seen for the first time in Morocco - as well a large number of unique attractions such as a fun park with ice rink and an Imax theatre, will satisfy even the highest expectations. The ambitious project, designed by one of the most demanded contemporary retail architects - Davide Padoa of Design International - follows the most up-to-date standards in sustainability and energy efficiency. Skylights and windows are designed to make maximum use of daylight, while keeping sunlight intake to a minimum during the hottest parts of the day. Morocco Mall will open its doors in November 2011, and it is already labeled as one of the new national landmarks. The development covers a total construction area of 200,000 m2, with a total GLA of 75,000 m2 for the mall, it includes three levels of shopping and two levels of car parking. Intelligent design by the architect fulfills the vision of developers Groupe Aksal and Nesk Investment. Follow this story at the MAPIC Agora room on Thursday 17 November.

Emporia (Sweden), presented by Klepierre (France)

Developed by Steen & Strom, a major shopping centre player in Scandinavia (Klepierre France is the leading shareholder) for an investment of euro 358 million, the Emporia shopping centre is located in the heart of the Oresund region to the southeast of Malmo, just 20 minutes from Copenhagen in Denmark. This is a front-line region in Europe with 3,6 million inhabitants and a highly international mind-set. The shopping centre is the most spectacular in Scandinavia and will open in late 2012, offering a very broad retail mix that will later extend to cultural facilities and leisure activities. A total retail space of 78,000 m2 will provide customers with more than 220 shops and restaurants. The project was designed so that locals can find both Swedish brands and international concepts, luxury brands and a variety of cafes and restaurants. Designed by Swedish architect Gert Wingardh, the linear structure of Emporia features a curved shape made from 800 separate sheets of bent glass at each entrance. Two monumental plazas, both majestic and welcoming, form part of the originality of this site: one is golden, a symbol of the amber that is still produced in this part of Sweden, while the other is turquoise, evoking the Baltic Sea and nearby Denmark.

You can find details of the current retail-site projects of companies attending the event in the online MAPIC database.

For editors:

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