In Spain, El Corte Inglés (the English cut) is an expression used to mean something is the best it can be. It is also the name of a shop that forms part of the Puerto Venecia Shopping Centre in Zaragoza – which became the largest shopping centre in Europe when it opened in October.
It was Levantina, one of the largest stone companies in the world, that supplied the cladding for the 97,000m2 El Corte Inglés and Hipercor buildings that rise above a magnificent lake at the heart of the shopping and leisure area.
On the roofs of the buildings are solar panels (photovoltaic cells) making the most of the Spanish sunshine, while the façade uses the thermal mass and reflective properties of Blanco Ibiza marble to help reduce the energy needed to cool the interiors.
Blanco Ibiza is widely used in interiors, but here has been given a bush-hammered finish to provide a textured yet homogenous surface that will cope well with whatever the climate throws at it.
Levantina, with warehouses in the UK near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and Basingstoke, Hampshire, was able to supply not only the stone but all the support services necessary for a project of this size.
At its headquarters in Alicante, Levantina last year opened what it believes is the industry’s first Major Projects Centre in the stone industry. In an area of nearly 1,000m2 the centre has the main materials in Levantina’s product range displayed alongside innovative construction solutions developed by the company – such as its rainscreen systems.
The new high-tech Centre is designed to meet the requirements of clients, architects, interior designers and consultants from all over the world who are working on major projects. Clients and professionals are able to use the full range of consultancy services available from Levantina’s Technical Office, just as those involved in the construction of the Puerto Venecia Shopping Centre were.
It was the availability of those services, with the support and guarantees provided by a technical team capable of realising the specific requirements of the team – with, for example, plans and exploded view diagrams – that led to Levantina being chosen as the stone supplier for the project.
Levantina says it has the staff and the technology to provide solutions in stone to any architectural requirement, consolidating its reputation as consulting and supply partner of natural stone on any project, no matter how large.
The Puerto Venecia Shopping Centre is one more in a long list of massive commercial buildings that Levantina has supplied the stone for. El Corte Inglés premises in various parts of Spain, the Leclerc Centre at Guérende in France and the Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius are just a few examples of its other success.
Although the earlier projects used many of the wide range of services from Laventina, those services have now been pulled together for even more convenience for those involved in major projects in the new Project Centre.
And it is not only the company’s considerable support that is available at the Centre, it is also the perfect place for customers to check at first hand their choices from the Levantina natural stone ranges before they are shipped, so that projects can then be supplied quickly and efficiently with already approved products.
Hankyu Department Store (Japan) and the Conrad Algarve hotel complex (Portugal) are two of the first major developments benefitting from the new Projects Centre. Incorporating value engineering and managing the whole project in an integrated fashion removes opportunities for misunderstandings and helps ensure a completely successful outcome.
The services of the Major Projects Centre are available for appropriate projects in the UK. But whatever size project you need natural or engineered stone for, staff at Levantina’s two depots in the UK will be delighted to help you. Call 01709 877778.