Shopping center Forum Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal, received a Merit Award at the 31st Annual ICSC International Design and Development Awards, which were presented during a ceremony held last week at the 2007 ICSC Centerbuild Conference in Phoenix, USA. Developer is Multi Development Portugal. Owner of the center is ING Real Estate.


Forum Coimbra in Coimbra.
The project was among ten award-winning projects that were selected from a shortlist of 38 finalists worldwide, from amongst others Japan, Australia, Europe and the USA. Since its inauguration in 1977, the ICSC International Design and Development Awards Programme has recognized outstanding projects worldwide for excellence in the creation of new retail projects and the expansion or redevelopment of existing projects.
The Merit award confirms the great success story of Forum Coimbra. The extraordinary retail & leisure space is a multiple award winner. Forum Coimbra also received the ICSC Europe Award and the Mapic Award earlier this year. The scheme is praised for its architectural appearance, the interior design, its product offerings and its operational success.
Forum Coimbra (48,000 m²) is a suburban regional-sized shopping center anchored by a Carrefour hypermarket. It sits on a hill on the left bank of Mondego River in the future expansion area of the city. It is a 3-level enclosed scheme: 5 levels of underground and surface car parking. Forum Coimbra is perfectly integrated with its environment, achieving significant visibility after converting a difficult, sloping site into an advantage by allowing direct access from the different levels of the car park into all of its areas. It successfully anchors a new expansion area of the city, fully realizing the current and future market potential of a growing residential area.
Ultimately, it is a combination of architectural coherence and innovative interior design solutions. The center encompasses a wide retail offer and a strong presence of leisure facilities: a 6-screen cinema and 28 restaurants.
Source: Multi