Gdańsk/Amsterdam, 29 January 2019
Multi Poland’s multi-functional centre, Forum Gdańsk, has won three awards on the same day: the Eastern European Property Design Award 2019 in the category shopping centres and two EuropaProperty CEE Retail Awards 2019 in the categories large retail projects and innovation in the retail sector. The European Property Design award ceremony took place on 24 January in Katowice in Poland during this year’s edition of 4 Design Days, the prime event for the property, architecture, interior design, and industrial design markets in Central Europe. The annual EuropaProperty CEE Retail Awards ceremony also took place on 24 January in Warsaw. The competition jury recognises the best projects, companies, and personalities in the Central and Eastern European retail market. Multi Poland is the developer and property manager of Forum Gdańsk.
“Forum Gdańsk is an unprecedented project on a European scale, an open urban space for art and culture. Its unique architectural form, modern design skillfully combined with traditional and historical elements deservedly attracts attention,” said the jury of the Eastern European Property Design award during the gala ceremony.
“In a significant boost to the retail real estate industry, the 11 th edition of the annual EuropaProperty CEE Retail Awards, welcomed a record number of attendees, including over 100 retailers actively operating in the region. Multi Poland, developer of Forum Gdańsk, walked away with the Shopping Centre of the Year award in the large retail project category. Multi Poland also won an award for Innovation in the retail sector awarded by the Retail Institute, who partnered with EuropaProperty to recognise several companies for their achievements and forward-thinking practices that have shaped the changing face of the retail industry over the last year,” said EuropaProperty, the organiser of the CEE Retail Awards competition.
“We are very proud to receive these three awards, and all on the same day. It is wonderful to receive recognition for what is a truly outstanding multi-functional centre. Forum Gdańsk is an exceptional project in the Tri-City area, which comprises Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, thanks to the efficient merger of a number of public and commercial functions. Since its opening in May last year, it has been visited by more than eight million shoppers, including residents from Gdańsk and the surrounding region, together with tourists from every corner of the world. What visitors appreciate the most is the original architecture of the complex and the outstanding retail and leisure,’’ said Magdalena Gibney, director of Forum Gdańsk.
Property Design Awards
The idea behind the competition was to recognise the best commercial and public projects commissioned by the end of 2018 in Poland. The professional jury of architects, designers, architectural critics, and journalists compiled a shortlist of projects nominated in the categories shopping centres, offices, hotels, public buildings and public spaces. Following the compilation of the shortlist, the top projects were selected in a show of hands. The competition is organised by the Polish Entrepreneurship Support Association, publisher of the trade portals PropertyDesign.pl and PropertyNews.pl.
EuropaProperty CEE Retail Awards 2019
The CEE Retail Awards are organised by EuropaProperty, a leading publisher and organiser in the commercial real estate market in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The retail and commercial real estate industry recognises these awards as the market benchmark for retail success in Central and Eastern Europe. This 11th edition of the competition recognised the best commercial projects, chain stores, companies, and personalities of the real property market in Central and Eastern Europe in several categories. The idea behind the competition is to promote the best players in the real estate and trade markets and highlight their achievements, as well as to share experiences at the events organised around the competition itself. The winners of this year’s edition were selected by the jury a day before the gala ceremony.
Forum Gdańsk
Forum Gdańsk is a located in the inner city of Gdańsk and offers 62,000 sqm GLA of retail, a multi-screen cinema, leisure facilities, restaurants and 1,100 parking spaces. It also includes a boutique hotel and the multi-functional Gdańsk Institute of Culture. The centre is also a transport hub for buses, trams, trains and cars and has bike and pedestrian paths. The centre boasts a public square designed as an attractive space to meet and relax. Visitors can enjoy comfortable seating surrounded by greenery or choose one of many cafés and restaurants with gardens. An important part of the project is the revitalisation of the banks of the Radunia Canal, through the addition of a glass roof for all-weather enjoyment. Forum Gdańsk offers over two hectares of green areas, which have been planted with over 33 thousand plants from 80 species, creating a unique ecosystem in the city centre that attracts butterflies and songbirds. Multi Poland, part of Multi Corporation, the Gdańsk municipal authority and PKP Polish State Railways cooperated on this major project.
Architecture
Multi’s in-house design studio TTDesign provided the concept design, while the Polish branch of renowned French construction designers SUD Architectes was responsible for the detailed architectural plan. BPBK of Gdańsk designed the technical and road infrastructure. Following a public competition, Studio Architektoniczne Kwadrat of Gdynia was selected to design the Gdańsk Institute of Culture.