Minto shopping mall

2021-01-22

Located in Monchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Minto is a landmark building on Rhine. In order to well match with the local characteristics, the designer used a large number of local traditional terracotta tiles to decorate the external facade. The colorful strip-shaped terracotta tiles are evenly arranged longitudinally, forming four winding ribbons across the external facade, showing the unique artistic and cultural atmosphere of the downstream area of Rhine warmly and brilliantly. Together with the modern urban environment, here is a unique landscape.

Facade design

Style is the label of a city. So in order to highlight the design tension, the external façade of Minto is designed as a colorful, well-arranged terracotta wall. The longitudinally arranged terracotta tiles outline a splendid and colorful facade, which is tidy and yet full of rhythm and rhythm. The choice of the color is also quite deliberate: 11 gradients (ranging from red to ocher), which is free but harmonious. during the process of making terracotta, coloured enamel glaze is avoided, but to choose the natural color, which is burnt by only adjusting the ratio of the clay.

As the facade of the shopping center, terracotta is not only to show the traditional local features, but also to save costs because it is really kind of sturdy material. in addition, since the surface of terracotta is not flat, it is difficult for graffiti writers to doodle. Even if it is damaged, it is easy to replace it with new ones. This “symbolic” facade is not only showed with a special image and meaning in terms of cultural attributes, but at the same time, this design also makes the building itself shine, prolongs people’s vision, impacts the public’s senses, and promotes the interaction between people and environment.

New Urban Center

Minto has become an important space of citizens' public life due to its diversified convenient service capabilities and the diversity of commercial brands. Some scholars even define it as a new urban center born out of an old urban.

▲The powerful facade creates a new centre for Mönchengladbach. The advertising spaces are integrated and not only placed on top.

Blurred city interface

As a city continuation, this huge building complements the whole style of the city. Looking outside, the floors are well-arranged, the facades are concave or convex, the space is extruded or enlarged, and overhung gardens and terraces are also avoided. Like the neighboring buildings, Minto has become the focus of the entire area in a unified and unique way.

▲Various viewing angles facilitate orientation.

The Multiple-first-floors Design Concept

The internal structure of Minto uses a multiple-first-floors design concept. Thanks to its position on a slope, three of its four floors can be accessed at ground level – With this multiple-first-floor design, more exits and ground floors are created to attract more people and promote their consumption. In addition, the mall’s parking lot is over the shopping area and is divided into 2 floors, with 600 parking spaces.

▲Generously two-storey high – the central hall.

▲The large food court of the Minto.

▲Restaurant areas are becoming increasingly important in shopping centres.

Hörmann expertise:

Fire-rated and smoke-tight doors as well as fire sliding doors

Hörmann is represented at the Minto shopping centre in Mönchengladbach with around 450 steel fire-rated and smoke-tight doors. In many cases they are equipped with hinged gate operators to guarantee comfortable and barrier-free access. The wishes of the concerned tenants were taken into account. In addition, 19 fire protection exterior doors with approval for each individual case were fitted.

▲In case of fire, the fire sliding door seals the room in front of the elevators. It moves out of the wall when required.

The four fire sliding doors located near the lifts to the two parking decks are perfectly incorporated into the modern architecture. They are fully fitted into the wall and close automatically in case of fire. In normal operation, the visitor does not see the doors. Only the 18 centimetre wide steel recess flaps their function. When closed, wicket doors allow the passage in case of emergency. It is also possible to fit the fire sliding doors without a guiding profile on the opposite wall.