The European Council of Shopping Places (ECSP), the voice for Europe’s retail property sector, last night announced the winners of its inaugural Design & Development Awards. They recognise the best new shopping places built, extended or refurbished in Europe since 2018. Split into two different categories and based on their size, five winners and 5 commendations were announced, chosen from sixteen finalists. Each was assessed on its innovation, design, concept, layout, performance and sustainability credentials.
The ECSP Design & Development Awards emerged from those previously hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), which have taken place since 1977.
This year the awards ceremony was held in Milan as part of ECSP’s first Awards Conference, in which senior figures from Europe’s retail property sector met to network and discuss key issues such as new lease models and the evolving shopping experience.
The winners were:
- New Developments category
- Mercato di Corso Sardegna (>15.000 sqm)
- Aleja – Ljubljana (15.001 – 45.000 sqm)
- Renovations and expansions
- MyZeil Foodtopia – Frankfurt (15.001 – 45.000 sqm)
- Plaza Mayor – Malaga (45.001 – 70.000 sqm)
- NorteShopping – Porto (<70.000 sqm)
There were also commendations for:
- New Developments category
- BEO Shopping Centre – Belgrade (15.001 – 45.000 sqm)
- Lagoh – Sevilla (<70.000 sqm)
- Nivy – Bratislava (<70.000 sqm)
- Renovations and expansions category
- Quarree Wandsbek – Hamburg (15.001 – 45.000 sqm)
- Diagonal Mar – Barcelona (<70.000 sqm)
Speaking at the Conference, Christian Recalcati, from Sportium, one of the awards organisers, said “Due the pandemic, there’s been a hiatus in recognising good projects around Europe. That’s why we opened up the criteria from 2018. Despite all the challenges that our sector has faced, we have seen some excellent examples of best practice. Retail development and investment has continued to build communities and push the boundaries of the entire shopping experience, both inside and out”.
Peter Wilhelm, the outgoing chairman of ECSP who attended the event said “Design is a key part of what a successful shopping place looks like, however, the challenges are changing. How we adapt to the energy transition and the need for ever more energy efficient and sustainable centres must be incorporated alongside the continued need to remain one step ahead of what consumers expect when they visit. Their experience remains our strongest asset”.
The full press release is available here.
For further details, please contact:
- Marcus Pepperell, FTI Consulting for ECSP: +44 7821 420 477 / Marcus.pepperell@fticonsulting.com
- Paula Salinas, FTI Consulting for ECSP: +32 469 14 99 29 / paula.salinas@fticonsulting.com
About European Council of Shopping Places (ECSP)
The European Council of Shopping Places provides a European voice for an industry that designs, creates, funds, develops, builds and manages places anchored by retail across Europe. Its members are a catalyst for sustainable urban regeneration and represent an important civic function in virtually every European community. For more information, please visit www.ecsp.eu