On Tuesday this week, the Maryland Mall officially opened its doors for business. The mall which is also referred to as the BIG BLACK BOX (thanks to an all black facade), took about 20 months to erect at a cost of roughly N5 billion. The construction was executed by Purple Capital Partners Ltd with funding from Stanbic IBTC and AXA Mansard.
Located on the site of the previously defunct Maryland Shopping Centre, the new Mall sits on a total land size of 7,700sqm offering parking for 200+ vehicles via a dedicated underground car park.
CMD+A Principal, Tosin OshinowoIts also situated along one of the most important traffic routes in Lagos, with an estimated 5000 cars passing through per hour.
This is probably why the Architects behind Nigeria’s first indigenously designed retail center, CMD+A, made the core of their approach facade a 550 sqm LED screen, touted as the largest one in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Principal of the young architecture practice, Tosin Oshinowo, was quoted as saying,
“….the screen which is 60 metres long is the longest in west Africa and also ensures revenue opportunities for the mall, … an unconventional one with no windows, yet adequate lightning.”
Though yet to be completed on opening, this unique feature will definitely be a game changer for the Mall, setting it apart from any other retail complex in the country.
Thankfully, we were ‘on site’ to get an inside look on opening day, and heres what (and who) we saw. You can find our previous feature on the project here.
This Store caught our attention… 
An intricate ceiling design using wooden boxes
“Display Racks” still using the wooden boxes
