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A PR IL 2017 | 65 CrossIron Mills CrossIron Mills by MARTHA UNIACKE BREEN A s the first "concept mall" in Western Canada – a development model that combines mainstream retail, big box and outlet stores within a single venue that often features distinctive, consumer-friendly themes, CrossIron Mills in Rocky View County was a resounding success from the time it first opened its doors in 2009. Just five years later, it was apparent that the 1.4-million-square-foot mall was ready for a major expansion and rejigging. The $64-million-plus expansion, which finishes this spring and adds or renovates some 106,068 square feet of space, moves the food court into a light-filled new hall in the "entertainment wing" of the mall near the cinemas, and turns its old location on the main drag into a much-desired expansion of the mall's fashion retail offerings. But there was more to the decision than that. Food courts – or "food halls," as mall developers increasingly like to style them – have become intrinsic to the image and attraction of malls, and most major plazas in North America have either upscaled them, or are planning to. The food hall is as much a destination as an anchor department store or cinema, and can have a significant influence on mall traffic. Moving it to CrossIron's north side, within a soaring glass atrium, allowed them to expand the seating significantly, increase the number of food purveyors, and turned two under-employed areas of the mall into star performers. James Moller, GM of CrossIron Mills and a senior executive with Ivanhoé Cambridge, says: "It was really the culmination of a discussion that began in 2014. Two things came up in the discussion: First, we were running out of space! We had quite a stable of tenants who were waiting for space; second, the food court performance had been much higher than we anticipated. It was getting to the point that there weren't enough seats for people any more. It was very popular with mallgoers, because there were 19 different vendors and it was beautiful architecturally. "But also, the mall itself was really popular; for most malls, the average visit is about an hour, but people were staying at CrossIron for two-and-a-half hours. And as you can imagine, if you stay at the mall that long, you're going to want to take a break from shopping, sit down and have a drink or a bite to eat." But there was also an important practical aspect to the new design that would remedy a problem that the original designers could not have foreseen. David Miner of Dialog, who worked as executive architects (alongside JPRA Design, the design architects for the project), takes up the story: "The new food court would activate a portion of the mall that was originally designed for a connection to a casino, racetrack and hotel across the road. The development across the street ran into issues and was never built, and as a result, that part of the mall never reached its full potential." Also, Miner continues, "Since the opening, fashion tenant demand has been increasing and the location of the original food court was a better fashion tenant location. Food courts tend to be destinations, and their location is not totally dependent on being in high-traffic areas." Since one of CrossIron's greatest assets has always been its design, the look of the new food hall was carefully considered. "The Food Hall is divided into four major parts: Bistro dining for a more intimate dining experience; Grand Hall Dining that has an open air feel; transitional seating; and the food hall tenants, with each tenant providing their own branding," says Ted Moore Jr. from JPRA Design. A variety of ceiling heights and seating styles allow for a choice of eat-in settings. "The seating types range from bistro for a more intimate setting, grand hall with community tables, transitional seating and in-line seating," adds Moore. Drawing on a theme of a New York streetscape, the vendors are easy for visitors to see all at once, and the hall is open and full of natural light. As Chris Bardell from Ledcor explains: "The main seating area consists of a 43-foot clerestory structure that includes five custom-built lighting fixtures that fill the clerestory space. The circular clerestory structure consists of windows surrounding the food hall, and three large skylights, letting natural daylight into the space." The north entrance, with its soaring glass vestibule, works as, in effect, a marquee for the food hall, and for the mall as a whole. Its graceful glass and steel structure was a feat of engineering to create. "The front entrance consisted of a 40-foot-high vestibule built of curtain wall and a uniquely curved steel structure, cladded with metal panels. The curved steel pieces were delivered to the site, where many hours of welding were required to assemble the structure on the ground. Once the steel was completely welded, the entire 70,000-pound roof structure was craned into place," says Bardell. According to Dialog's structural engineering consultant Chris Lenzin, the vestibule roof was as complicated to design and model as it was to construct. "For me, one of the most interesting challenges on the project was the 3D curvature of the entry vestibule roof," he recalls. "We co-ordinated extensively on the design with JPRA Design and Dialog's architectural group, using 3D modelling software PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CROSSIRON MILLS

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