The opening ceremony

The public opening ceremony was attended by Abdülkadir Aksu and Necati Özdemir, both high-ranking officials in the presiding Justice and Peace Party, Dominic Brenninkmeyer, Chairman of REDEVCO, Jaap Blokhuis, Chief Executive Officer of REDEVCO; Jaap Gillis, Chief Operating Officer of REDEVCO and many others. In the words of Mr Aksu at the opening ceremony: “The extraordinary architecture of Gordion is a new landmark in our city.” The official opening ceremony took place at 9 am and doors opened to the public at 10 am. Throughout the day visitors and children enjoyed spectacular shows by groups and artists, which were held throughout the complex.

Attractive retail offer

Gordion Shopping Center adds a new dimension to shopping in Ankara, offering the best national and international retail brands. The key tenants are Carrefour, Electroworld, Zara, C&A and Marks & Spencer. As well as a rich variety of restaurants and cafés the centre also offers other brands such as Cinebonus, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear, Network, Fabrika, Benetton, Teknosa, Koton, LC Waikiki and Nike. Lovable, an Italian lingerie and sleepwear brand, will open its first store in Turkey at Gordion Shopping Center.

REDEVCO Turkey is responsible for managing the centre.

Gordion Shopping Center is much more than just shopping

In addition to the enormous range of products, the new shopping centre also offers a wide variety of gastronomic and fun opportunities for the whole family. It has extensive leisure facilities to enhance the shopping experience and offers attractive public space for people to linger and relax. For example, visitors can enjoy popular restaurants like Num Num, Cookshop and Sushico. The centre also offers a 13-screen cinema – the largest in Ankara – operated by Cinebonus.

The new parking facilities, directly under and above the shopping centre, are open during the operating hours of the complex and offer 2,500 parking spaces. The parking levels are equipped with the latest features and are spacious and well lit. Parking is accessible from both the Eskiehir Yolu and the Ankaralilar Caddesi.

Economic stimulus for Cayyolu region

The opening of Gordion Shopping Center has created 1,500 new jobs. Patrick van Dooyeweert, Managing Director of Redevco Turkey, said: “Gordion Shopping Center will be an essential driver for the economic prosperity of this part of Ankara. Given its scale, investment value, employment opportunities, location and shop mix Gordion Shopping Center has tremendous potential for the city and fulfils Ankara’s aspirations for its retail sector.” 

Architecture

With its unique design, the building stands out as a landmark in this Ankara suburb. Inspiration for the concept was drawn from the local history and architecture, the Gordion knot. It brings an urban, sophisticated feel to this new part of the city, with contemporary architecture playing a key role at the entrances and in the treatment of façades and materials. The shopping promenade is organised around a single ‘street’ with three main squares.

Entering the centre through the south entrance there is the Bijoux Square, bringing light to the lower floors with its kaleidoscopic play of coloured diamonds. Further down the street there is the Central Square, suggestive of an urban plaza.

Crowning this sequence is the Food Court Square, with vertical decorative and structural elements rising from ground level towards the sky to emphasise the spectacular atmosphere of the shopping environment.The concept was designed by Redevconcepts, the in-house concept team of REDEVCO, incorporating new installations to meet the latest energy efficiency requirements. The architecture is a joint creation by Chapman Taylor Architects and Redevconcepts. 

First green shopping centre in Ankara

Gordion Shopping Center has been awarded a BREEAM certificate with a rating of “Very Good” and is the first green shopping centre and the first BREEAM-certified building in Ankara, with a population of 4.5 million inhabitants. BREEAM is the world’s longest-established and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings. Gordion Shopping Center will also apply for a BREEAM in Use certificate, to ensure that the environmental performance of the building is continuously improved, a key principle of REDEVCO’s environmental policy. The centre will partly generate its own on-site energy. A cogeneration system will provide approximately 18% of the centre’s electricity needs. The efficiency of the system will be maximised by using waste heat for heating and cooling. This will lead to lower CO2 emissions than in any other shopping centre in Turkey. As the centre is located over a metro station, CO2 emissions caused by visitors will be lower too. 

Location and accessibility

Gordion Shopping Centre is located on Eskiehir Yolu in the Çayyolu district, which has become a prominent administrative and commercial centre. The shopping centre is close to Turkey’s most outstanding educational institutions, METU, Hacettepe, Bilkent and Bakent Universities. Located at the Çayyolu junction, the centre is easily accessible by public transport and by car, both via Eskiehir Yolu and from within Çayyolu. The new metro line, which is now under construction and should be operational within a year, will make access even easier and give the Çayyolu district added appeal. The Gordion Shopping Center will be the only shopping centre in Ankara that is directly on the metro line.

Next project

REDEVCO will open its second project of 32,000 sq. m. in Erzurum, Turkey, on Thursday, 8 October 2009. Like its other developments in Turkey, REDEVCO’s Erzurum project served as a pilot project for the development of the BREEAM Europe Retail scheme and was recently awarded a BREEAM certificate with a rating of “Very Good”. The certificate demonstrates that the shopping centre meets very strict requirements for green design, and goes beyond the demands of national legislation.

 

About Redevco

REDEVCO, a Cofra Holding company, manages and develops one of the largest retail real estate portfolios in Europe, with properties in top locations throughout its major cities. REDEVCO is active in 21 countries, mainly in Europe but also in Asia, where it has opened offices in Hong Kong and New Delhi with a view to building a real estate portfolio of retail investments and developments in this region. The Redevco portfolio, which also includes office buildings and logistics centres, currently comprises over 800 properties with a total value of approx. € 7.1 billion» (CS della Società)

Mr. D.Brenninkmeyer, Mr. A. Aksu and Mr. N. Özdemir