ron arad: mediacite in liege, belgium

‘mediacite’ in liege, belgium by ron arad architectsphoto: peter cook

upon invitation by wilhelm & co., ron arad architects have designed ‘mediacite’, a 40,000 m2 shopping mall in liege. the belgian city used to be one of the world’s foremost centres of steel production and since in economic decline, the building stands as a symbol of the city’s revitalization.

the mall snakes through the fabric of the refurbished old market at one end, extending a total of 350m long to connect to the new belgian national television centre at the other. the design of the roof unites these elements through a network of steel ribs which undulate over the cores of the mall’s length, sculpting the volume of the commercial space below. mirrored into the floor pattern, it draws a sinuous pathway which pulls one through each of the zones, revealing diverse vistas along the way. as it exits the volume of the main building – at two piazzas linking the old market and new mall – this overhead ribbed structure wraps downward, merging into the façade to close the envelope.

the futuristically shaped pier, which combines the latest technologies and materials, has earned the reeam international environmental accreditation which is a first for belgium in this category of building. the new space accommodates economic, retail, cultural and leisure activities. the project, along with the new gare des guillemins (train station) by santiago calatrava and the opening of grand-curtis – a mega-museum housing gems from the heritage collections of liège – last year, are all drivers for economic redeployment and cultural regeneration within the city.

aerial view of the mall snaking through the refurbished old market centreimage courtesy of ron arad

ground floor with view up to second floorephoto: peter cook

alternative views of the ‘mediacite’ interiorphotos: marc detiffe

the roof is made from a skewed lattic-work of steel ribsphoto: marc detiffe

upper levelphoto: marc detiffe

upper level of the ‘mediacite’ which reveals diverse vistas of the surrounding cityscapephoto: marc detiffe

photo: marc detiffe

photo: marc detiffe

photo: marc detiffe

the commercial space by nightphoto: marc detiffe

 project info:

design of mall roof & facades, interior of mall and external piazzas client: wilhelm & co.location: liege, belgiumgross area: 9750 m2principal: ron aradproject director: geoff crowtherproject architect: paul maddenexecutive architect: jaspers eyersstructural engineer: buro happolddesign team: joel dunmore, james foster, julian gilhespie, marta granda, tuomas pirinencontractor: BPC, lemants (steel roof)year: 2006-2009