Ice-cold leisure and retail centre planned for Paris

A design by London-based architects, GMW, in association with French architects, Serau, has been chosen by developer, Bouygues Immobilier, for its £37m, 50,000sq m leisure and retail development, Libercité, at Noisy-le-Grand outside Paris.

The 26,000sq m shopping centre will be complemented by a cold zone – including a 175m long, 52m high indoor ski slope; snowboarding and ice wall climbing – to be operated by by French company, Transmontagne, which also operates outdoor ski resorts in the French Alps.

Other facilities at Libercité will include karting, bowling, a health and fitness centre and restaurants and bars – with the main restaurant overlooking the entire ski slope, snowboard area, learner’s ski slope and children’s snow garden.

The main shopping mall will be accessed from the car park by a bridge, taking visitors past the climbing wall and fitness centre.

Work is due to start on site mid-2004 with the centre scheduled to open in the autumn 2005.