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In our new design for Mall of the Netherlands, all roads lead to Central Plaza, the heart of the space. Here every route converges, and from here visitors can set off to explore every corner of the mall. A simple, well-articulated network of eight looping paths connects everything smoothly together, and our seamless design enhances the experience with its fluid lines and calm, neutral colour scheme. Spectacular installations and skylight details add touches of drama.
Location
Leidschendam
Project completion
2020
Client
Unibail Rodamco
Building surface
200.000 m2
Solutions
Interior design
Our biggest challenge in designing the interior was to create a variety of spatial experiences while maintaining a unified look and feel. We therefore restricted the materials and colour palette and opted for an organic formal language in keeping with the relatively green setting near to a park. This approach allowed us to devise a spectacular scheme for the Dining Plaza, the first-floor hospitality area where visitors can pause for a coffee, lunch, dinner or a drink, or enter the cinema. Our large-scale organic installation, like a cluster of trees spreading their interlacing branches over the tables below, lends a simple but powerful visual identity to the space. The branches form a kind of ambient umbrella that creates an intimate atmosphere.
Basing our design on the concept of a spring, we accentuated the contours of the interior, and its curving paths, with a graphic pattern of flowing lines and arabesques symbolising water. All these lines originate at the ‘spring’, the fountain in the middle of the Central Plaza. They snake along the floor and curl over the ceiling, where they sparkle with inset lighting. They help guide visitors through the complex and back to the source.
Here and there we added an ornate ceiling element as an additional guide for visitors navigating the mall. Curved skylights flood the building with daylight, unusually in the Netherlands where indoor shopping centres have never been the norm. Some are covered with ornately patterned grilles resembling rippling pools of water.
We kept the colours neutral in our design, with a palette of predominantly black and white. Here and there the glossy finishes of glass and polished stone flooring alternate with wood, for a touch of natural warmth. The organic lines and planted areas keep our design friendly and balance the visual excitement with a certain calm. Our restrained approach makes the shop-fronts pop and focuses attention on the retail displays.
