Alexis Nihon Shopping Center

Consistency to reinforce the brand

Alexis Nihon Shopping Center, a downtown Montréal real-estate complex consisting of a shopping centre, two office towers, and a residential tower, first opened its doors in 1967. The owners commisioned LEMAYMICHAUD to undertake a major transformation of the shopping centre. This imposing concrete structure was very much focused inward at ground level. Our job was to open it up and make it more visible and accessible from the street. To do so required numerous structural changes and no small amount of ingenuity.

Outside, we performed extensive renovations on the building’s façades, installing majestic illuminated panels that speak a new, decidedly more contemporary architectural language. Inside, we added a panoramic elevator serving the three floors of shops, as well as a parking facility. In remodelling the interior, we used light-coloured materials to accentuate the natural light from the central atrium—white ceramic floors, white gypsum-board ceilings, and recessed, elongated lighting fixtures, all of which help create a streamlined, attractive, welcoming environment. Most of the shop fronts consist of full-height glass walls; to provide a unifying theme, we added a black, backlit strip running along the top of each.

One of the greatest challenges that we met in this project was to keep the mall and shops running uninterruptedly throughout construction. The final result of all our efforts: a coherent architectural experience that starts at the street and continues all the way to the threshold of every shop in Alexis Nihon Plaza, thus strengthening its brand identity and enhancing the shopping experience that it provides.

Learn more about the project in Place Alexis Nihon website.

Check out other LEMAYMICHAUD’s commercial projects.