MIAMI, – Miami-based Arquitectonica designs the
world’s third-largest shopping mall, now open in Manila.

* With the completion of Mall of Asia, Arquitectonica is now responsible for three of the world’s 12 largest malls, according to The Wall St. Journal.

* Mall of Asia consists of 700 shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. To visit each store for just 5 minutes would take 2-1/2 days. So patrons may rest their feet, the mall provides tram service.

* The mall is a linchpin in the reclamation of Manila’s neglected
waterfront. Inspired by Manila Bay, the mall evokes the ocean’s fluid forms through its ellipses and curving spaces in a predominantly white palette with highlights in aquamarine and blue.

* The mall’s inauguration was attended by the Philippine president, who
watched “Everest” in the country’s first IMAX Theater. The mall’s
Esplanade recently hosted the international fireworks competition, World Pyro Olympics.

Developer Henry Sy, Sr., founder of SM Group, with Miami-based
architecture firm Arquitectonica, has delivered a new retail project
changing the way people shop in the Philippines: SM Mall of Asia. Adapting
its signature “tropical modernism” for the super-mall on Manila Bay,
Arquitectonica uses broad curves and zig-zags to suggest a playful,
abstract maritime theme. “Manila is defined by its energy,” says
Arquitectonica founding principal Bernardo Fort-Brescia. “Few places in the
world convey so clearly the ambition and drive of a population. So we have
the challenge to capture that energy and give it form.”

The super-mall is part of the reclamation of Manila’s neglected
waterfront. Inspired by bay, the mall echoes the ocean’s fluid forms
through curves in clean white tones with aquamarine and blue accents.
The project comprises four buildings: the Main Mall, the Entertainment
Mall, and the North and South Carparks. Main Mall contains more than 700
shops and restaurants. The Entertainment Mall holds the Philippines’ first
IMAX Theater; a Director’s Screening Room with 30 La-Z-Boy chairs; seven
more movie theaters; an Olympic-size ice rink; and a future science
museum/aquarium. The Carparks house 5,000 parking spaces, the SM
Hypermarket department store, and office space for Dell.
“A mall is the microcosm of a village center, but we can get more
creative,” says Fort-Brescia. “Plazas become interesting forms; streets
curve and bend to create a sense of discovery and visual stimulation. At
Mall of Asia they become multilevel sensory stimulants that lead the eye to
merchandise.”
SM Mall of Asia was inaugurated May 20, 2006. The Philippine president,
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, attended the opening and watched “Everest” in IMAX
with triathlete Leo Oracion, the first Filipino to summit Mt. Everest.
More buildings are expected: Mr. Sy plans to build a 16,000-seat
sports- and-entertainment coliseum, a convention center, casino and hotels.
SM previously partnered with Arquitectonica on the Podium, another
retail/entertainment complex in Manila.
SM MALL OF ASIA
Location: Pasay City, Manila
Architect: Arquitectonica
Size: 4.2 million square feet
Cost: $130 million
Opened: 2006

ABOUT THE ARCHITECT:
Arquitectonica (http://www.arquitectonica.com) is a Miami-based
architecture, interior design and planning firm led by Bernardo
Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear. The 400-person firm has offices in Miami,
New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Lima,
Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires. Affiliate Arquitectonica GEO provides
landscape architecture services.
Arquitectonica has extensive experience in designing major retail and
shopping destinations, including: Florida’s 2.35 million-square-foot
Sawgrass Mills; Hong Kong’s 1.5 million-square-foot Festival Walk; New
York’s Manhattan Mall; Washington, D.C.’s Gallery Place. Also in Asia are
4.85 million-square- foot Taikoo Hui Shopping Mall/Mixed-Use Development
(Guangzhou, China) and the 5.33-million-square-foot AIG International
Finance Center (Seoul). Entertainment centers include Shanghai’s Zendai
Forum and retail streets like Wilshire Vermont (Los Angeles).
Arquitectonica’s exterior designs establish identity and deliver the
message of shopping excellence. The retail interiors provide memorable
space, clarity of circulation, visual stimulation — and maximum exposure
of merchandise.
Arquitectonica has won numerous awards for its work, including Florida
Firm of the Year and prestigious “Test-of-Time” Awards from the AIA for the
Banco de Credito Headquarters and The Atlantis condominium. Its designs
have been featured in 3,000 publications and major museum exhibitions
globally, and a new book, Arquitectonica, by Beth Dunlop.

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