ZAC DES GREGUES shopping centre, Reunion Island.

Between tradition and modernity

The new shopping centre in the ZAC des Grègues in St Joseph on Reunion Island is a 4,500 m² hypermarket, two medium-sized spaces totalling 2,500 m² and 22 stores with a surface area of 2,200 m² arranged in a shopping complex of over 9,200 m².

Atelier REC, an architectural firm chosen for its expertise and know-how in the field of commerce and works in tropical areas, has designed a welcoming shopping centre whose forecourt and entrance are made of gold and white aluminium composite panels inspired by the motifs of traditional houses and the peaks of the Reunionese mountains. The main banner imagined by Atelier REC and realized by ISOSTA International reinterprets traditional motifs in a contemporary way.

Cyclone zone tamed by ISOSTA International

The main constraint for ISOSTA International is that the ZAC des Grègues is located in a windy area. Saint Joseph is often subject to cyclonic winds. The ISOSTA International design office therefore decided to use 6 mm LARSON© composite aluminium for the cladding of its panels whereas the standard is 4 mm. This thickness ensures a higher rigidity of the system. In order to ensure the panels’ good resistance to pressure/depressions in case of weather

disturbance, they were installed in a cassette system, the panels are hooked back onto a supporting framework made of aluminium profile fixed to the carcass by adjustable angle brackets or stirrups.

The distance between the centres of the reinforcements and their design have been justified by a calculation note to ensure that the system used will hold well.

3D modeling and architectural respect

In order to respect the Golden angle imagined by Atelier REC, the design office provided a 3D model of this entire area of the building. This study allowed to define all the panels to be manufactured by adapting the reinforcements and their locations in order to preserve the architectural bias.
In addition, several prototypes were made for the luminous perforated white strip to validate the positioning of the reinforcements so as not
to disturb the aesthetics of the patterns during night lighting.

Logistics Challenge

ISOSTA International took up the logistic challenge to ship large format panels to the Reunion Island, in French overseas departments and territories, with lengths up to 5.2 meters for the white perforated strip and 5.9 meters for the gold part.
ISOSTA International is proud to have taken part in a turnkey service by carrying out the 3D study, the calculation notes and the manufacturing.
The supply consists of 500 m² of LARSON© Signal White panels for the white banner and 300 m² of LARSON© Holo Gold for the gold part as well as the sub-structures.