Location: RAVENNA, Italy 19'000 sqm 2017
Client: IGD SIIQ SPA - INRES COOP
Type: Commercial

ESP shopping mall in Ravenna doubles its size and services with a brand-new wing designed by Area-17 and INRES. 19'000 square meters, hosting 50 new businesses, makes of ESP one of the most relevant shopping mall in Italy, counting now over 100 stores. While harmonizing with the earlier architecture, the design is meant to provide strong visual evidence of the extension, to be read even on an urban scale.

The main façade is characterized by a covered walk converging in the new entrance defined by monumental volumes. The sinuous movement of overlapping layers encourages entering the building, but it also anticipates the design of the interiors. The custom-made street furniture points out the effort made to create a relational space other than a commercial space. Lingering outside, it is possible to appreciate the vibrancy of the inside atmosphere through floor-to-ceiling windows, and vice-versa.
The new gallery’s layout is based on the addition of a commercial ring linked to the preexisting environments. The original idea aims to create a path where visitors will not feel lost despite the significant increase in size. The architectural language enhances the layout, modelling the interiors according to smooth and fluid lines, which guide clients to discovering the mall stores following an even, natural flow.
Two squares are the focal points of the path: the one where the old and the new parts link together and the food court. Here, the urban topos merges with elements inspired by the natural world –stylized trees and skylights framing wide portions of the sky. Explicit references guarantee a visual continuity with the former gallery, particularly the floor design picks up the same materials and style of the original one.

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BRESCIA, Italy 27'000 sqm 2018

Centro Nuovo Flaminia is part of a wider urban renewal plan concerning the former “Magazzini Generali” area at the South-West of Brescia city center. It occupies 27'000 sqm, among which 7'000 are dedicated to a Coop supermarket. The shopping mall, designed by Area-17 and Inres, is the focal and vital point of a great park and recreation area.

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BUSTO ARSIZIO, Italy 2'000 sqm 2018

Located in the city center, the new supermarket Coop Busto Arsizio is the core of a wider urban requalification area. The store occupies the volume of a former factory and has been redesigned by Area-17 and Inres as a connection between the neighborhood and the new project area. Roof-to-ceiling windows dematerialize large portions of walls and engage interiors and exteriors in a uninterrupted dialogue.

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SHANGHAI, China 2'700 sqm 2018

Area-17 interprets the innovative Hema Robot Restaurant by Alibaba Group with an interior design and layout that enhance the high-tech character of the original concept. The newest location occupies the second floor of a branded space that Hema opened inside NECC – the new National Convention and Exhibition Center in Shanghai. Visited by millions of people, this is the perfect location for an environment unifying the brand’s core values and an experimental approach to hospitality.

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FIORANO MODENESE, Italy 5'000 sqm 2018

The partnership between Area-17 Architecture & Interiors and Iris Ceramica Group continues with a renovation work that combines distinctive features of contemporary design with a great respect for what the brand means for its surroundings and the people living there. The refurbishment of the historic Iris Ceramica headquarters arises from two main needs: integrating the original building from the ’60s with the brand-new showroom’s volumes, and remodeling the interiors, which underwent a change in functions over the past decades. It also states the choice to consolidate a weighty brand identity and return it to employees and clients with a new, stronger visual image.

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CASTELLARANO, Italy 2'000 sqm 2018

For the restyling of the Italian Ariostea headquarters’ interiors, Area-17 drew inspiration from the brand’s core values: technological innovation and maniacal attention to detail. The 2'000 sqm office building occupies 2 floors, connected at both ends by double-height volumes providing wide perspectives as well as a visual and physical tie among spaces.

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BOLOGNA, Italy 360 sqm 2018

Iris Ceramica stand designed by Area-17 for Cersaie 2018 demonstrates the ability of interpreting contemporary spaces using the ceramic material in an unexpected way. This year, the inspiration comes from the latest trends in co-working environments, where new ways of interacting and doing business ask for new architectural languages.