M5 Mall in Ryazan opening
5 Dec 2011
On Friday 11 November 2011 the new shopping and entertainment M5 Mall has opened its doors in the city of Ryazan, situated 185 km away from Moscow. The developer of the project for 120 million Euros was PPF Real Estate Russia, the Russian affiliate of the PPF Group. The general contractor was PSJ, one of the largest construction companies in the Czech Republic.
Funding of the project was provided by the Czech Export Bank and the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation. The author of the architectural design was the studio CUBOID ARCHITEKTI. PSJ implemented more than half of the volume of works through Czech subcontractors, by PSJ’s in-house capacity and by subsidiary Ekoklima. Part of the work was ensured through Russian subcontractors.
M5 Mall is situated at the intersection of the largest highway of the city and the region – Ring road and Moscow highway. The total area of the shopping and entertainment center is 70,000 m2 and it offers a wide range of goods and services of some of the best international and Russian brands, in line with similar centers in Europe. In the complex there is for example a hypermarket, electronic store, shopping passages and several scenes for marketing events. In addition to shops and restaurants there is also a multiplex cinema with unique 7D technology and a kids club. The complex has a large parking area for 2,500 cars to ensure comfortable access by private transport.
The mall is sectionalized by two longitudinal and three cross shopping passages. The interior is designed to offer its visitors a bright, pleasant place for relaxed shopping and leisure. The intersections of passages formed large circular areas. Long straight passages are optically divided into shorter sections by small circular areas. The elliptical centre in the middle of the building serves as a rest area surrounded by food court. The elliptical center is accented with three fountains and it is lit with roof skylights.
“We have noticed enormous public interest from the very first day of operation. Nowhere else in Russia, there is a similar center in a town with less than a million residents. Given that Ryazan has half a million inhabitants, the complex M5 Mall is a unique project. The company PSJ has proven itself to be capable to work in the Russian market; and the Developer’s name PPF is a guarantee of reliability and solidity.” says Mr. Tomáš Laštovka, Executive Director of PPF Real Estate Russia.
PSJ’s realization team, under the leadership of the Project Manager Mr. Karel Pejčoch, mastered one of the most challenging orders in the previous history of the company. Supervision over the implementation of this contract was the responsibility of the Production Director of PSJ’s Export Division for the Russian Federation Mr. Josef Noha:
“Particularly the last part of the construction was really very hectic and demanding. In the course of construction, the building has absorbed a considerable amount of work and materials. One example is 70.000 m2 of roof cladding, the same range of concrete slabs and also the underlying asphalt.
A challenge was the installation of 2,000 tons of bearing steel structure, facade cladding of 10.400 m2 and large amount of all cabling and installation.
However, external effects gave us hard time. Last summer was marked by drought, heat, and large fires. One of the most affected areas was Ryazan surroundings. Due to annoying fumes we even interrupted work on steel structures because of threat of accidents at work due to poor visibility. Moreover, the Russian winter would deserve to be expanded into a separate chapter." says Mr. Noha.
PSJ operates in the Russian market since 1994. Construction of M5 Mall is an important reference for the company and one of the biggest orders in the previous twenty-one year history. However, another ongoing construction of a large production plant for company OOO DOK Kalevala in Petrozavodsk for 150 million Euros is the biggest contract so far. Furthermore, PSJ currently completes an administrative building in Arkhangelsk, implements Megapolis residential complex in Kazan and builds shopping centers in Tambov and in Adler – Sochi.