The Carré Sénart shopping complex is composed of a two-level quadrangular volume diagonaly divided in two parts. The first triangle is dedicated to shops while the second one is dedicated to parking lots and a pathway to the highway.
With this expansion, Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés signs the final chapter of the Carré Sénart project inaugurated in 2002. The result is a 150 000m² looping route between the original space and the new expansion.
Preserving the elements characterizing Carré Sénart (such as the wide glassroofs and the vegetalized spots), was among the main focuses of this architectural and commercial project. The shape of the building makes it a landmark that is easily identifiable thanks to its geometric purity, whiteness and horizontality. The two buildings blend in together through the use of similar materials (metal, marble and glass). With the expansion of the shopping areas a new entrance accessible from the parking lot was created. Rethinking this extended façade was also an opportunity to highlight the existing entrances.
The new 21 meter-high and 130 meter-long glazed façade is composed of frosted glass pannels and illuminated by soft LEDs and creates the cube originally designed by Jean-Paul Viguier on the first Carré Sénart project.
The visitor walks in the shopping through a monumental entrance and wanders along a covered street bathed in natural light with harmonized high shop fronts on both sides. The furnitures and various decorative elements designed by Saguez & Partners perfectly fit in this marble and wood environment.
Outside, along the “Trait d’Union”, the forecourt was extended so as to highlight the shopping center’s relation to its surroundings and create a sense of continuity between the recreational area (restaurant and movie theatres) and the future “night court” (restaurants and live theatre).
Twelve years after being inaugurated, Carré Sénart went from 138 shops to 203 today (including the French major department store Galeries Lafayette).
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