This development is a mixed-use complex in a rapidly-growing zone of the city of León, Guanajuato. It brings together an office building, retail space, restaurants, fast food, entertainment, gym, cinema screens, and a vast green roof at the heart of the project, creating an open-air park as a recreational and ecological space.
The principal concept is to create a blend of open and closed spaces contained in a single development. The architectural program of the shopping mall is designed around four patios at each corner of the project, in a reinterpretation of the colonial Mexican architecture typical of the region. Each patio presents a range of different experiences with gardens, water bodies, and rest areas measuring twenty meters across spaced throughout the commercial zone.
This retail area is located around the four interlinked patios on the ground and first floors. The second floor of the central volume is occupied by a large park surrounded by restaurants and kiosks, complementing the family activities within the complex and providing pleasant views for the office block and surrounding stores.
The cinema screens are located on the third level, with their volume incorporated into the office tower, switching the usual concept of a closed box for an element that opens onto the central park. A potential second phase of the mall is planned for, with a third floor.
Availing of the region’s pleasant climate, lightweight roofs were designed at different heights, incorporating pergolas and mullions and held up by exposed metal structures. These elements generate shaded, semi-outdoor spaces to offer a more agreeable and fluid user experience.
The project also contemplates an office tower with approximately 20,000m2 of rentable space over twenty floors. This is located on the north-east corner and forms a visual backdrop to the complex. It includes a motor lobby exclusively for corporate use in a vehicle patio and a covered pedestrian access.
The choice of materials includes a palette of neutral and natural colors such as stone for the façades, different types of wood, and exposed metal structures with different finishes. Sustainable criteria have been incorporated to achieve an efficient building and reduce energy consumption.
There are three vehicular and three pedestrian entrances, each one designed for different flows and user requirements. All parking is underground, with the intention of eliminating the urban perception of a gray space hostile to pedestrians, instead assigning the ground level to pleasant walkways and an abundance of vegetation.
Unlike most shopping malls in Mexico, visitors to this project are able to enjoy an extensive, open-plan circulation that allows them to experience each space through the language of architecture.
The whole project covers a built area of approximately 175,000 m2, with 25,000m2 of offices, 36,000m2 of retail spaces, 3,000m2 of restaurants, terraces and kiosks, a 2,000m2 gym, and 4,500m2 of cinema screens, offering an extensive range of cuisine and the best stores.
It thus promises to be a successful and iconic development in the city of León, as well as an outstanding example of Mexican architecture.
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