ZARAGOZA, SPAIN —The Puerto Venecia Shopping Centreopened for business in October 2012, becoming the largest shopping center in Europe, a title held until then by Marineda City Shopping Centre in A Coruña.

Inside the complex, there is an impressive unit formed by the Hipercor and El Corte Inglés buildings, which appear to be one single construction. The 1.04 million-square-foot (97,000-square-meter) building rises above the lake, which serves as the focal point of the shopping and leisure area. 

The building has been designed in a sustainable manner, as solar photovoltaic cells have been installed in the roof to supply energy for the building. The facade has been covered with bushhammered Blanco Ibiza marble. Levantina supplied this material, which creates a spectacular building — in total harmony with its environment due to its white to grey color.

Blanco Ibiza marble is widely used in interiors, but the bushhammered finish considerably increases its hardness and resistance. The bushhammered finish gives a rough and homogenous surface, with uniformly distributed small indentations. This offers a higher level of durability when the material is exposed to harsh weather over time.

This project is one more in the long list of commercial buildings in which Levantina has been involved. Other examples are the El Corte Inglés premises in various points in Spain, the E. Leclerc Centre, Guerende, in France or the Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius.