The Itäkeskus Shopping Centre, which takes its name from the district to the East of Helsinki but which was renamed Itis in 2012, is not only the largest shopping centre in Finland but also the largest shopping centre in all of Northern Europe.
Opened in 1984, the shopping centre has undergone three different development phases; twenty years after it first opened the Itis Shopping Centre has been recently renovated during a project by London-based Haskoll Architects. A project started in 2012 and finished in 2014, including external facades and hallways. The project was aimed at the renovation of obsolete structures and at the extension of the shopping area for further 12,000m².
Today, the Itis stretches over a surface of 140,000m² on 4 storeys, of which 100,000m² are dedicated to 120 shops, 15 restaurants, 2 department stores and 30 offices. The style characterising the new structure recalls the elements typical of modern architecture, with clean and luminous lines enhancing the space.
In this context, Caesar contributed to the renovation project with a supply of ceramic tiles for the flooring of hallways, public areas that require high resistance and durability as well as aesthetic appeal. Gate, the Caesar collection in Made in Italy porcelain stoneware, proved to be the perfect solution merging efficiency and design and interpreting the contemporary mood of cement into ceramics. The minimalist and alluring graphics of Gate were chosen in four different colours (Downtown, Tube, Licorice, Breath), to create various graphic designs and a type of ceramic carpet that denotes the promenade and highlights the entrances, shop windows, directions, etc.
