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The Super-Mall Hits the Philippines
MIAMI, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami-based Arquitectonica designs the world's third-largest shopping mall, now open in Manila.
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Arquitectonica ( www.arquitectonica.com )
is an award-winning architecture, interior |
| design and planning firm of some 400 professionals led by Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear. The firm has offices in Miami, New York and Los Angeles, with regional offices in Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Lima, San Paulo, and Buenos Aires. Its affiliated firm, Arquitectonica GEO, provides landscape architecture services. (PRNewsFoto/Arquitectonica) MIAMI, FL UNITED STATES 12/15/2006 |
* With the completion of Mall of Asia, Arquitectonica is now responsible
for three of the world's 12 largest malls, according to The Wall St.
Journal.
* Mall of Asia consists of 700 shops, restaurants, and entertainment
venues. To visit each store for just 5 minutes would take 2-1/2 days. So
patrons may rest their feet, the mall provides tram service.
* The mall is a linchpin in the reclamation of Manila's neglected
waterfront. Inspired by Manila Bay, the mall evokes the ocean's fluid
forms through its ellipses and curving spaces in a predominantly white
palette with highlights in aquamarine and blue.
* The mall's inauguration was attended by the Philippine president, who
watched "Everest" in the country's first IMAX Theater. The mall's
Esplanade recently hosted the international fireworks competition, World
Pyro Olympics.
Developer Henry Sy, Sr., founder of SM Group, with Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica, has delivered a new retail project changing the way people shop in the Philippines: SM Mall of Asia. Adapting its signature "tropical modernism" for the super-mall on Manila Bay, Arquitectonica uses broad curves and zig-zags to suggest a playful, abstract maritime theme. "Manila is defined by its energy," says Arquitectonica founding principal Bernardo Fort-Brescia. "Few places in the world convey so clearly the ambition and drive of a population. So we have the challenge to capture that energy and give it form."
The super-mall is part of the reclamation of Manila's neglected waterfront. Inspired by bay, the mall echoes the ocean's fluid forms through curves in clean white tones with aquamarine and blue accents.
The project comprises four buildings: the Main Mall, the Entertainment Mall, and the North and South Carparks. Main Mall contains more than 700 shops and restaurants. The Entertainment Mall holds the Philippines' first IMAX Theater; a Director's Screening Room with 30 La-Z-Boy chairs; seven more movie theaters; an Olympic-size ice rink; and a future science museum/aquarium. The Carparks house 5,000 parking spaces, the SM Hypermarket department store, and office space for Dell.
"A mall is the microcosm of a village center, but we can get more creative," says Fort-Brescia. "Plazas become interesting forms; streets curve and bend to create a sense of discovery and visual stimulation. At Mall of Asia they become multilevel sensory stimulants that lead the eye to merchandise."
SM Mall of Asia was inaugurated May 20, 2006. The Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, attended the opening and watched "Everest" in IMAX with triathlete Leo Oracion, the first Filipino to summit Mt. Everest.
More buildings are expected: Mr. Sy plans to build a 16,000-seat sports- and-entertainment coliseum, a convention center, casino and hotels.
SM previously partnered with Arquitectonica on the Podium, another retail/entertainment complex in Manila.
SM MALL OF ASIA
Location: Pasay City, Manila
Architect: Arquitectonica
Size: 4.2 million square feet
Cost: $130 million
Opened: 2006
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
Arquitectonica (http://www.arquitectonica.com/) is a Miami-based architecture, interior design and planning firm led by Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear. The 400-person firm has offices in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Lima, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires. Affiliate Arquitectonica GEO provides landscape architecture services.
Arquitectonica has extensive experience in designing major retail and shopping destinations, including: Florida's 2.35 million-square-foot Sawgrass Mills; Hong Kong's 1.5 million-square-foot Festival Walk; New York's Manhattan Mall; Washington, D.C.'s Gallery Place. Also in Asia are 4.85 million-square- foot Taikoo Hui Shopping Mall/Mixed-Use Development (Guangzhou, China) and the 5.33-million-square-foot AIG International Finance Center (Seoul). Entertainment centers include Shanghai's Zendai Forum and retail streets like Wilshire Vermont (Los Angeles).
Arquitectonica's exterior designs establish identity and deliver the message of shopping excellence. The retail interiors provide memorable space, clarity of circulation, visual stimulation -- and maximum exposure of merchandise.
Arquitectonica has won numerous awards for its work, including Florida Firm of the Year and prestigious "Test-of-Time" Awards from the AIA for the Banco de Credito Headquarters and The Atlantis condominium. Its designs have been featured in 3,000 publications and major museum exhibitions globally, and a new book, Arquitectonica, by Beth Dunlop.
Contact: Chris Sullivan
Source: Arquitectonica
CONTACT: Chris Sullivan, ,
Web site: http://www.arquitectonica.com/
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