Sweden’s newest shopping centre development, Mall of Scandinavia, has opened its doors in the Stockholm suburb of Solna.
The landmark scheme is the largest retail development in Scandinavia with 101,000 sqm of retail and leisure accommodation and a varied mixed-use component of offices, residential apartments and rooftop ‘Town Houses’.
The Mall of Scandinavia is integrated into the new National Stadium Complex with shared infrastructure links to the existing road and rail network and significant public realm. The wider development area also includes a hotel and conference centre in addition to the sports stadium; these projects have combined to act as a catalyst for wider development in the Solna district.
Benoy’s design of the building and commercial planning, in conjunction with local Swedish architects Bau, is complemented by the Interior Design from Swedish agency Wingårdhs and Paris-based Saguez and Partners. The collaboration and efforts of the designers are apparent in this striking building which is now the benchmark project for Retail in Scandinavia.
Included in Mall of Scandinavia are strong international tenants, driven by the leasing team’s emphasis on regional brands, the unique “Designer Gallery”, which was proposed to accommodate an element of ‘pop-up’ retail, a significant food and leisure dining offer as well as the new cinema complex. These features have created a region-wide destination for shopping and entertainment – a true ‘day-out’ family oriented experience.
“We have worked diligently to ensure that Unibail-Rodamco’s commercial aspirations for Mall of Scandinavia were combined with the city’s master plan ambitions for this project” said Robert Bishop, Benoy director and head of the Europe studio.
“The mixed-use components of this design have allowed this very large building to sympathetically embed within the new Solna district, creating significant new public realm and streets with active live, work and play credentials. The elevational ‘Ice flow’ motif is part of the distinctive identity of the project which, we believe, has a truly Scandinavian personality,” Bishop said.
“Working on a project of this scale, we were challenged to balance the size of the scheme with the importance of navigational understanding for the customers; the clear and coherent plan of Mall of Scandinavia allows for a relaxed shopping experience. Integrated into the planning are many event areas and triple height volumes that allowed Wingårdhs a great opportunity to create a varied and rich interior, which customers are already enjoying.”
This is Benoy’s second Unibail-Rodamco project in Scandinavia, and one of several in collaboration with the developer throughout Europe, including Centrum Chodov, the largest Czech commercial scheme which has recently launched on-site and the €1 billion Überseequartier project, a 250,000 sqm mixed-use design situated within the Hamburg Hafen City Development Zone and overlooking the River Elbe.
