The Le Terrazze shopping centre in
La Spezia

Built on a portion of the site alongside the railway occupied by the former La Spezia LP refinery (Subsection 3), the Le Terrazze shopping centre was opened to the public on 21 March 2012. The project marked the first step in a more ambitious multi-stage plan to redevelop this previously abandoned empty urban space through the construction of housing, tertiary and sports spaces and a large park.
Owned 50% by Sonae Sierra, a Portuguese multinational specialising in the construction and management of shopping centres, and 50% by ING Real Estate, the centre is the brainchild of Portuguese architect José Quintela (Chief Design Officer at Sonae) and British practice Broadway Malyan. It was implemented by the Milan-based architecture and engineering practice Bms Progetti, which oversaw all executive, architectural and structural phases through to construction. One of the largest shopping centres in the Liguria region, it is inspired by the unique colours and landscapes of this part of the renowned Cinque Terre coast with its rugged, stratified cliffs that plunge sheer to the sea. In particular, it takes its name from the agricultural terraces that have been cut into the slopes of the nearby Apennine mountains.
Involving a total investment of 65 million euro, the development comprises a 75,000 square metre space for retail activities leased to 102 businesses, including supermarkets, restaurants, fitness centres and shops, as well as a 2,000 space car park. It consists of two separate volumes standing side by side, supported by a traditional reinforced concrete prefabricated structure called the Hero Building, which accommodates the shopping centre and offices, and the multi-storey car park. The car park consists of 5 above-ground floors, whereas the larger Hero Building extends over two main levels and houses a further two arcades set into irregular polygonal faced volumes that emerge from the complex and frame the large, high glass panels of the main entrance. There are two opposite entrances, the main one to the north and the rear one to the south. The retail spaces and levels are interconnected by a main distribution ring and a series of escalators.
The terracing of the hillside is referenced in the arrangement of the car park facades, which slope down towards the rear entrance and are embellished by a green perimeter. The stratification of the rocks and the slopes and colours of the coastal and Apennine mountain landscape served as the source of inspiration for what has become the Le Terrazze brand image, the multicoloured strip motif. Consisting of ochre, beige, green and brown coloured layers, it lends instant recognisability to the Hero Building, whose external finishes consist of a mixed system of insulated sheet steel panels and horizontal coloured porcelain bands of different heights. The interior floors of the common areas are based on a checkerboard pattern of multicoloured porcelain (Ceramiche Caesar).