The Aparna Shopping Mall and Multiplex at Nallagandla with its futuristic design creates an alluring exterior that draws visitors in. With most of Hyderabad bursting at its seams, Nallagandla provides vast open spaces for growth. The biggest USP of the Aparna Mall and Multiplex is connectivity with the Lingampally MMTS station barely a kilometer away. The approach to central areas like Begumpet and Banjara Hills is also easy via the Old Mumbai Highway and the Outer Ring Road.
The shopping mall and multiplex has been designed to present a façade that offers the feel of a welcoming oasis. The beautifully landscaped greenery that is a part of the project adds to this feeling. The shopping mall and multiplex has been created in such a way that the two aspects of the structure are easily distinguishable. The retail space is spread over three floors and the multiplex makes the top of the building with a 10 m volume. Further enforcing the differentiation of the mall’s uses, the entertainment and kid’s area is clubbed adjacent to the multiplex. The complex is as deep as it is tall with three levels of parking space underground. Going up, you start with three underground parking levels, three retail levels topped by the entertainment hub featuring the multiplex, gaming zone, food courts and restaurants and a designated area for kid-friendly entertainment.
A lot of thought has gone into the planning of the retail area. To ensure pull, there is a hypermarket at the lower-ground level. The hypermarket has its own exclusive lifts and escalators. The rear of the building serves as the loading and unloading dock for the hypermarket. Spread across 33198 sq ft, the hypermarket is spacious, with wide aisles for multiple trolley movement and space for attractive product display.
The main retail area of the mall fans out from the middle where two escalators are placed for the convenience of the visitors. This clearly identifiable node with the escalators is easily accessed by visitors coming in from the drop off entrance and the plaza entrance. The aim of putting the escalators in the middle of the mall with a central circular movement is to create a feeling of expanse and as the visitors go up or down they also take in the entire spread of shops. To further cater to the numbers and introduce an element of convenience are two lifts located at the two ends of the mall. These afford visitors the option of easily accessing any level of the mall.
Another feature of the mall which fits in with ideal retail design concepts is the placement of anchor stores starting from the lower ground level going up three levels. Each anchor store has 59378 sq ft of space to create the kind of retail experience that best suits their brand identity. In-store escalators and exclusive lifts further enhance the shopping experience. Provision is also there for access to staff and storage areas at the back of the mall through shared lifts.
Design is again used as a tool to maximize the investment put in by smaller tenable shops. Optimising the space available, each retail space has been provided with maximum frontage to grab maximum eyeballs. The wide frontage with pedestrian aisles and cutouts are designed such that they can be viewed from wider angles and from greater distance.
A unique feature of the mall is the use of cutouts and voids across the area where the visitors will move. This creates a feeling of space for the visitors and offers the retailers the advantage of better visibility for their store front. In fact, the store fronts can be visible from multiple points and levels across the mall, helping shoppers identify the store they wish to visit easily. The atrium adds to the feeling of openness and also offers space for promotional events.
To enhance the mall-going experience, special attention has been paid to the eating spaces. Located largely on the second and third levels, there is a good mix of different kinds of F&B outlets. The front of the plaza area has space for three cafes, quick bites or takeaway joints which organically leads into the al-fresco dining spaces within the plaza. A differentiator has been created by using the landing space of the escalators for gallery cafes that are warm, inviting eating options enhanced by the view out of full-length glazed glass panels. The food court is housed on the third level with the provision of a service gallery for maintenance.
The multiplex area can be accessed from the second floor via the escalators and lifts. Appropriate placement of the ticketing booths ensures that there is no over-crowding at show times. Adequate arrangements have been made for smooth ingress and egress from the theatres to ensure unhindered flow of moviegoers. Enjoy a feeling of luxury and expanse in the multiplex lobby which houses the concessionaire as well as the entrances of the different auditoriums. The balcony lounge overlooks the retail areas and creates another layer of space.
The 7568 sq ft gaming and entertainment zone forms the rest of the area on this level. Options for arcade games, bowling alley, kid’s zone and play area among others are available. When visitors reenter the mall after a movie, they come into this space, leading them to spend some time here as well.
The basic concept of the mall and multiplex is to create a feeling of luxury and space. This has been achieved to a great extent by incorporating features like the atrium, cut-outs and voids and wide pedestrian areas. Even the choice of colours for the public spaces reflects a sense of light and space. The public restrooms are aesthetically designed to make the visitors feel they are in a hotel and not a mall.
