Client: Sonae Sierra
Location: Venice, Italy
Size: 50,000m²
Skills: Architecture, Interior Design, Branding & Graphic Design
The brief from the client was to refurbish, reconfigure and rebrand a tired shopping centre with the maximum effect but the minimum of disruption and intervention. The new Valecenter features a reconfigured and more efficient retail plan, with a reinvigorated interior environment. Visual themes were developed from the crafts of Venice, including the vibrantly coloured Murano glass, elegant Burano lace and local woodcraft. This is expressed through the use of yellow orange and red tones throughout, as well as transparent and reflective materials to give brightness. Coloured fragments in the form of illuminated boxes are scattered throughout the mall providing interesting sculptural features. These themes of glass and wood have been joined by the flowing shapes of water, with ceilings and floors echoing the form of ripples and waves.
The main brand was developed from the ideas of coloured glass overlapping and interacting to create a long panel. Without the budget to re-clad the building, the brand has been used as an architectural element, creating a bold screen both signing and covering the elevation.
Winner of Best Refurbishment & Extension at the 2010 ICSC European Shopping Centre Awards.
"A centre that has successfully reconfigured the layout, maximised the potential from the existing volume and transformed the shopper environment." ICSC Awards Jury