AM

Almada Forum in Lisbon, a shopping center developed by AM (formerly Amstelland MDC), has been awarded with the Full Design Award, the highest recognition in the Design and Development Awards competition of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

In the category Large Shopping Centres Almada Forum won the competion from projects in Spain, USA, Japan, Korea and Ecuador. The ICSC announced the winners of its 28th annual competition at a ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona (USA).

Almada Forum is Portugal’s second largest shopping center covering 110.000 m² of retail, leisure and foodcourt on three levels. It was opened in 2002 and attracts more than 18 million visitors a year. The conceptual design is from AM’s inhouse design group T&T Design. The € 210 million project is owned by the German fund Commerz Grundbesitz Investment Gesellschafft mbH. In 2003 Almada Forum won the international Mipim Award.

‘Like winning a world title’
Hans van Veggel, vice-chairman of the AM Management Board, expressed pride in the recognition by the ICSC for Forum Almada. ‘With all our projects we seek to create a public space with a difference that captures something of the local magic. In Forum Almada this has been achieved with particular success. Having already won the Mipim Award for this combined shopping and leisure center in 2003, the ICSC’s recognition is like winning a world title and represents the jewel in the crown for the expertise of our company. Once again it shows that AM’s design & development approach is a proven export product. We currently have shopping centers and urban regeneration schemes under development in around 15 countries, each of them affording its own special experience and sustainable value growth.’

European quality
This year’s winners were selected from a field of 50 entries, with 39 finalists in the competition. European shopping centers represented 11 out of the 39 finalists. European countries entered in the competition this year were: Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey.

Chair of the European Shopping Centre Awards Jury, Arcadio Gil, said: “It is wonderful to see so many more European Shopping Centres achieving this very high international distinction. Shopping Centre design in Europe has developed fast over the last few years and it is a tribute to those working hard in all areas of the European industry that our high standards of innovation and construction are now recognised globally.”

Source: AM

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