Torrecárdenas shopping centre in Almeria celebrates a successful year since opening

The Chapman Taylor-designed Torrecárdenas shopping centre in Almeria, south-east Spain, will be celebrating one year since opening this weekend.

The festivities will kick off on Friday 25 October with a large welcome parade, followed by DJ music, a family dance contest and a magician performing tricks. On Saturday, there will be an official birthday party, starting at 12pm. There will be popular film soundtrack music, raffles and prizes, a stand-up performance by well-known Almerian comedian Pepe Céspedes and a giant movie-themed birthday cake which will be divided between everyone at the party.

The 60,000m² complex, owned by Bogaris Retail and managed by CBRE, is located in the Torrecárdenas suburb on the perimeter of the city, next to the city’s hospital. Over seven million people have visited the centre in the past year, confirming its status as the region’s number one retail and leisure destination.

Chapman Taylor’s design for the complex was inspired by the world of cinema, with a number of architectural and decorative touches on a movie theme.

The development provides 100 commercial spaces, including well-known national and international retail brands such as Primark, Leroy Merlin, Media Markt and the complete offer from the Inditex group (such as Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius). More than 50% of the space is dedicated to fashion.

The leisure offer includes a Yelmo Cines cinema complex, which has 10 theatres using state-of-the-art technology, including a children’s cinema and an immersive Macro XE screen. There is also an Urban Planet activity zone for children. The first food court in Andalucía, with its large terrace area, will offer a mix of gastronomic options to visitors.

A stunning digital welcome display created by Necsum Technology for Emotion greets visitors to the centre and provides a visually immersive focal point, with content ranging from excerpts of well-known local films, 3D animation, digital art and interactive augmented reality.

The shopping centre is served by 3,000 free parking spaces. 1,700 jobs have been created for the region as a result of the development.

Congratulations to everyone at Torrecárdenas on reaching this milestone – we look forward to seeing another excellent year of trading ahead.