The Market Puerto Rico, currently under construction in Gran Canaria’s popular southern tourist resort, is on a mission to create “a centre involved with its environment, with efficient and sustainable architecture, which responds to a demand for responsible consumption.”  They say they want to promote a change in how a shopping centre interacts with its public.

A unique concept on Gran Canaria, focused towards fresh, locally and ethically sourced “Slow food” of the highest quality, this 5,600 m2 commercial centre started construction earlier this year and is well on its way to completion.

A Sustainable Space

Aiming for “ecosystem architecture and efficient design”, The Market Puerto Rico say they are committed innovations such as vertical gardens within the buildings, parking with charging points for electric vehicles, power supplied by photovoltaic solar panels, to glass enclosures that minimize the thermal effects of the sun and thereby reduce the consumption of air conditioning, and the use of materials designed for energy savings combined with state-of-the-art technology.

The parking area will have 5 fast charging points for electric vehicles, making it the largest such facility anywhere on the south of Gran Canaria.

High Quality Premises

Within The Market, there will be 26 commercial premises with a focus towards quality, innovation and the most creative proposals of the day, and they emphasise that they are committed to a cohesive commercial mix consisting of prestigious brands that share the same values of commitment to the customer. The most prominent of whom is tipped to be the new SPAR Natural brand, first launched here on Gran Canaria at the beginning of 2017,  and who will occupy an area within The Market of close to 2,000m2.

In addition, The Market Puerto Rico plan to host the first Food Market on the south of Gran Canaria, offering quality gastronomy, with fresh produce and Slow Food to “delight a customer increasingly aware of the simple pleasures and who respects the environment.”

More than 14,000 plants combine architecture and biodiversity in The Market Puerto Rico

Calliantha-Agropaisajismo is a newly formed company “dedicated to the harmonisation and sustainable management of landscapes”, and they have created a unique urban environment in the Canary Islands, through careful design, in which nature is to be integrated into the building, using innovative landscape management techniques.

Founders Néstor Castellano and Carlos Álamo do not just design gardens to use, they design ecosystems, “imitating the harmonious beauty of nature in their compositions”, simultaneously promoting ecological interactions through efficient management of biodiversity. They have include in their design for The Market a space to encourage the coexistence of more than 14,000 plants, using 60 different plant species, of which 25 are endemic flora of the Canary Islands.

“The purifying environmental benefit” they say, “of this huge amount of plants in an urban environment is quantifiable”, with the plant biomass they are using expected to lead directly to an annual CO2 release reduction of about 1,703.08 kg, it will capture 185 kg of heavy metals per year, process 96.61kg of dust particles in suspension, it will filter and clean 488,710.2 tonnes of harmful gases and, in addition, will generate the equivalent amount of O2 consumed by 720 people per year.

In this game changing design, an absolute first for Gran Canaria, they also contemplate the inclusion of telematic elements for the scientific dissemination of information on ecology and management of ecosystems and agrosystems; allowing them, to evaluate, preserve and improve the environment.