Gontran Thüring

Interview with Gontran Thüring, general secretary of the CNCC

Mixed-use developments attuned to major social changes

The CNCC (French council of shopping centers) represents professionals in the sector. In late 2016, the council created a commission to review urban mixed-use developments. The general secretary, Gontran Thüring, explains the reasons for the review to Parlons Commerce.

Why has the CNCC taken an interest in mixed-use developments?

The CNCC wants to shape a constructive dialogue between our sector and the public authorities. Civic leaders increasingly demand projects offering a blend of offices, housing, amenities, services and retail, and they are even emerging in peripheral zones. Our sector supports this type of development because we believe it reflects major changes in society. People no longer compartmentalize their time between work, leisure, shopping, etc. This overlapping of daily activities spurs the desire for places that fit these new practices by providing proximity, convenience and multi-functionality.

Do blended developments create new opportunities for shopping centres to innovate?

They are certainly a new opportunity for development in the broader sense of the expression “shopping centre” which covers any structured retail area, including ground-floor retail space of office or residential buildings. Mixed-use developments will no doubt out-pace those of mono-functional retail centres.

And they do indeed represent an opportunity for innovation since such projects do more than juxtapose a mix of functions. They require careful consideration of integration: What type of community will the occupants form? How can the site be managed and boost its attraction? How will shoppers circulate, what will their shopping experience be like? We recently made a study trip to Scandinavia and we found the Urban Escape project in Stockholm the most inspiring from this perspective.

Are existing shopping centres also thinking along these lines?

Yes, because the average age of shopping centres is 30 years, and they need to be modernized. For example, large spaces will become available as supermarkets reduce their floor area. We must anticipate these changes since they are driven by consumer demand. And, after all, consumers are our raison d’être!