Strong structural elements frame a lightweight play of material detail in this modern mall at the heart of rapidly developing Zagreb. The building skin takes on a crystalline, facetted quality, using an industrial language brought together with a jewel-like attention to detail.

Beautifully situated on a 1.5 hectare corner site across from the new Contemporary Art Museum, Avenue Mall is at the heart of a rapidly developing new district of Zagreb, Croatia. With three levels of commercial space rising above three underground levels, Avenue Mall provides consumer goods of all varieties, as well as entertainment. The building skin takes on a crystalline, facetted quality, using an industrial language brought together with a jewel-like attention to detail. Strong structural elements frame this lightweight play of material detail. The metal panels are selected in a variety of shades and hues within a single color tone. The random ashlar pattern allows the individual facets to break down the scale of the block, while the play of the panels link it linguistically with the rest.

A faceted, stepped roofline, pierced by roof lights, wraps the project, tying together upper and lower forms and connecting the 7-level office block to the retail podium. The play with roofline relates visually to the contemporary nature of the new museum across the avenue and gives this particular intersection in Novi Zagreb a fresh modern character. Each façade thus takes on a specific and independent quality, which comes together in the corner where the faceted face slips behind the more solid vertical structures, creating a welcoming entrance, as well as a visually powerful marker for the Galeria.