The French architect was invited to take part at a late stage in the project, when the bureau - the author of the original draft - unexpectedly closed.
Gotran did not want to significantly change the plans according to which the complex was already under construction at that moment, as this, among other things, could damage the functionality of its layout. She limited herself to changing the outlines of its constituent volumes and the actual solution of the facade.
CentralPlaza consists of a shopping center with a parking building behind it, as well as an office tower. Gotran decided to rely on the tradition of the Far Eastern trade, which is distinguished by an abundance of bright signs, flags, and lanterns. Therefore, she enclosed all the buildings of the complex in a shell of white panels, smoothing out their contours and creating a neutral background for the actual solution of the facades - bright and "confident".
These facades were covered with a network of red Plexiglas pipes (rectangular in cross section, measuring 15 cm by 50 cm) with LEDs inside. They form "streams of energy", imparting dynamics to the volumes of buildings and even, in the case of an office building, changing their outlines (the tower, according to Manuel Gautran, was too massive, and the corresponding arrangement of red lines gave it a visually elongated shape).
The red color of plexiglass during the day and the light of the diodes at night not only immediately distinguish the shopping center from the surroundings, but also additionally emphasize the advertising posters placed on the facade. Gotran also proposes to make the illumination dynamic: alternately toggle on and off different parts of this red grid.
