LOCATION: Mississauga, Ontario

ARCHITECT: MMC International – Design Architect

EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: Adamson Associates Architects

TECHNICAL DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras, Partner-in-Charge, Adamson

CLIENT: OMERS Realty Management Corporation (now owned by OMERS Realty Management Corporation & Oxford Properties Group)

STATISTICS:

• No. of storeys: Expansion 3/Existing mall 2
• Total floor area: 320,000 ft2 (29,730 m2)
• Total floor area (including expansion): 1,614,125 ft2 (149,957 m2)
• Parking: 8,450 (includes 2 levels of underground parking)
• Loading docks: 6 large + 2 small

Materials:

• Brick
• Prefinished metal siding
• Curtain wall doors & windows
• Brick landscape walls
• Ceramic tile floors
• Terrazzo floors
• Modified bitumen roofs

General Program:

• No. of zones: 3 retail “neighbourhoods”
• Anchor tenants: Wal-Mart, The Bay, Sears, Zellers
• No. of stores: +360

Cost: $80 million

Completion: 2000

Square One Shopping Centre Expansion

At just over 1.2 million ft2 (111.485 m2), prior to commencing this renovation/expansion, Square One was already one of Canada’s largest and busiest shopping centres.

In considering contemporary retail design, this addition of more than 320,000 ft2 (29,730 m2) of retail space, along with a new Cineplex Odeon movie theatre, street presence with a clear arrival point was critical for the success of both mall and theatre. With that in mind, the new entrance was articulated as a girdle-shaped glass rotunda set within a beautifully landscaped street adjacent to Duke of York Boulevard. With ample surface parking nearby and the car drop off positioned next to its lower level entrance, this new round glass architecture has become a beacon both day and night. Further, the rotunda’s soft shape partners well with the neighbouring round forms of the Living Arts Centre, Palladium and the City Hall’s council chambers across the street.

Internally the public routes throughout this addition have also benefitted from the new architecture, with bowed, sky-lit ceilings that flood the interior’s volume with natural light, resulting in a pleasant shopping experience.