Tuesday, December 14, 2010

AVENIDA 8 | Sao Joao Da Madeira | Portugal | Laguarda Low Architectureo

Nestled into a hillside of the small town of Sao João Da Madeira, this new retail center is the largest building in the town. Because of the sheer size of the site, the challenge of the design was to create a building both responsive and friendly to the human scale of the town, while presenting itself as a modern and elegant unified whole. The shopping center is on two levels with two parking levels below grade, taking advantage of the depressed ground of the site. The shopping flows along a single promenade from the southeast to the northwest beginning with a grand receiving plaza at the south entrance. The façade facing the street is partially transparent, which integrates the inner promenade with the town, and opens the shoppers’ experience to the urban environment. Additionally, a bridge was built to connect the supermarket and second level of the shopping center, and is double loaded with small scale retail. The bridge becomes not just a passageway; but a place to shop, to pause and look down on the city.....more
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