Page 24 - March 2023 #179

COVER STORY - TCONCEPT

Hof van Rijswijk
Rijswijk, Netherlands

THE WORLD’S ONLY GLOBAL RETAIL AND LEISURE MAGAZINE
Striking A Perfect Balance

www.rli.uk.com MARCH 2023 ISSUE 179
Based in the Netherlands, TconcepT are specialists in architecture,
concept design and placemaking around the globe and their
mission is to build places that are inviting and inspiring. Here,
GLOBAL FOCUS RLI spends some time with Founding Partner and Senior
GLOBAL FOCUS
GLOBAL FOCUS
CONCEPT
CONCEPT
T T TCONCEPT
STRIKING A
STRIKING A Architect Willem-Joost de Vries to learn more about how the
STRIKING A
PERFECT BALANCE
PERFECT BALANCE
PERFECT BALANCE
AUTHENTIC BRANDS GROUP KIKO MILANO BANYAN TREE GROUP 179 company works, some of their recently completed projects and
Evolve, Transform Italian Beauty Awaken Your
and Reimagine Goes Global Senses
what their goals are moving forward.
GLOBAL ARCHITECTURE & MASTERPLANNING | HACKETT LONDON | KSA & GIGA-PROJECTS | MIPIM INSIGHT | TIM HORTONS
concepT creates projects where the aesthetic, functional, An example of this can be found at Zuidplein, the main shopping
economic, feasible and sustainable aspects are in full harmony. centre of the southern part of Rotterdam. With over 160 shops it is
TOn top of this, they always add value to a project, whether this one of the largest shopping complexes in the Netherlands with 60,000sq
is for the stakeholders, the visitor, the tenant, the city or the investor. They m GLA. The mall is the centre of the Heart of the South mixed-use
do this by building attractive, sustainable spaces where people feel welcome densification area that also encompasses a residential area, a cinema, a
and safe, a perfect balance between public space and lettable area. theatre, a hotel and a convention centre.
The business has a long and broad history in retail-based inner-city As part of the renovation of this area, TconcepT convinced more than
re-development. With 25 years of experience in different countries with 50 individual owners to invest in the centre so that not only would more
varying disciplines and architects, they now create projects that alter people visit the centre, but they would extend their stay on-site. They
city destinations and repurpose buildings and spaces in 22 countries all focused primarily on improving the sightlines, quality, circulation and the
across Europe. experience of the mall. Entrances, malls, squares and touch points were
“These inner-city redevelopments are building on the DNA of redesigned. By removing bridges and stairs, installing higher shop fronts
each city, ensuring that redundant and obsolete spaces are reused and and using light and natural materials, they transformed the mall into a
revitalised,” explains Willem-Joost de Vries, Founding Partner and Senior transparent and fresh environment that featured some attractive F&B
Architect of TconcepT. “We re-imagine a city and we do this with our spaces. The mall also increased in size by 7,000sq m through the addition
people-based approach to planning. It is not about shopping centres, it of convenience stores.
is about meeting points and about human scale, bringing the new retail “Away from major flagship projects such as Zuidplein, we work
experience into a healthy-city plan.” on projects across a multitude of scales. In Peru for example we are

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