Throughout the lifespan of the Olympia Shopping Centre, we have worked closely with our clients, Somerston, to deliver the vision of the original masterplan. Ten years effort from many people, combined with the centre’s growing prominence in the Czech retailing sector, has led to the creation of the final link that unites all the building phases.
The architectural vision of the centre, completed in October 2009, preserves and enhances the form of the original design, whilst accommodating the large variety of shops and restaurants that want to be part of this 130 000 m² shopping destination.
The layout of the new courts and squares are influenced by the need to the fulfil space requirements of new retailers. Large shops are located in prominent positions at the end of the malls and in the middle of the new squares. Additional restaurants and cafes, essential to a large centre like Olympia, are located in open courts and squares to generate atmosphere and create opportunity for customers to take time out from the intensity of shopping.
The shopping layout links all of the new squares and streets in a quadrangular street pattern, easily identified by shoppers and retailers alike, simple to understand and with good visual connectivity. The size and scale of the streets and squares are compatible with the spaces already in the centre, although it is our intention to generate new public spaces with their own specific characteristics.
The orientation of the new frontage to the centre brings the Olympia more in contact with the adjacent bio-zone. It is our intention to further integrate the centre with this bio-zone, to provide external leisure and retail zones to compliment those inside. The mix of external and internal spaces created in the new development will add a further beneficial dimension to the centre as a whole.
Access to the new centre will be from the existing shopping malls and courts, and also from prominent new entrances located to take advantage of adjacent parking. These are distributed around the perimeter of the building, encouraging a spread of visitor parking and entrances suited to the visitor or their intended destination. Entrances always lead to a major square or court.
Our intention is for the new extended development to complete the building, to generate a single architectural form. Our hope for the Olympia shopping centre is that it will be a landmark building in Brno and the Czech Republic and continue to provide a stimulating and viable service to the people who visit it and who live with it in their daily life.
