Lentia City is a shopping center in the center of Linz (Austria’s third largest city) with an expanded sales floor of 20,000 m². The main entrance, which was designed by LOVE, is situated on the main road – the busiest street in this part of the city.
The goal of this design was to first attract potential Lentia City visitors with a friendly and distinctive appearance in the street and then usher them into the interior of the shopping center. This goal was accomplished using the “Lentia Sky,” a large silver panel fitted with spotlights that evoke a starry sky. It arches from the interior of the center into the street space and blends with the façade. Large, round façade openings with outward-curving plastic dome lights pierce the panel and provide natural lighting for the offices on the upper floors.
The Lentia City building is surrounded by 4-5 story old buildings. From an urban planning perspective, its façade, which flows into the center, and the receded entrance area create the feeling of an expansion of the existing street space, an effect which is supported by the bright, slightly reflecting metal façade.
The entrance area on the ground floor was designed in a conical shape which opens up into the street space like a funnel, thereby reinforcing the effect of drawing people in. On one side, a parade of shops leads from the mall to the street, while on the other side a panoramic elevator connects the five underground parking levels with the upper floors and also houses the fire escape. In terms of construction, the facade is rendered as a metal curtain wall made of aluminum composite panels on a thermally insulated, reinforced concrete structure.
