Beaulieu Shopping Centre

Renovation and expansion of the Beaulieu Shopping Centre. 

The Beaulieu Shopping Centre has been fully renovated and expanded to make it part of the city centre.

Built in 1975 as an outlying shopping centre, the Beaulieu mall has gradually "moved" closer to town as the area around it has been developed.

In 2001, the expansion proposal was included in the Ile de Nantes project. Architects Alexandre Chemetoff and Patrick Bouchain came up with a unique design that would fit in well with the urban plan. In addition, the main access road was converted to accommodate the Busway, a dedicated lane public transportation system, and the banks of the Loire were developed for soft transport modes.

The unique architectural design features façades with coloured squares and huge metal leaves 14 to 16 m high that adorn all the outer walls, including the new parking lot.

A large entrance connects the centre to the Busway station Beaulieu. A special effort was made to enhance the lighting, with some 100 skylights installed to combine artificial and natural lighting.

Around the shopping centre, the public spaces were redeveloped for new uses along the riverbanks.

A new street was built providing direct access for deliveries and freeing up local streets.  Along the boulevard, in addition to the bicycle lane, a combination bike/pedestrian path was built.

Rue Sebilleau and Rue Zamenhof were reduced from 4 lanes to 2 and the sidewalks were widened to provide better access to the Loire. The area now features broad walkways with greenery.

The expanded shopping centre also features innovative energy systems. The new parking lot houses an 1800 sq. m photovoltaic power plant, sponsored by Nantes Metropole and centre owner Segece. The solar panels produce enough energy to power 80 homes. The power plant project, sponsored by Nantes Metropole, is part of the European programme Concerto.

The new roof features a vegetated roof system, which in addition to being attractive, provides insulation and stores rainwater.