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Spain, and we aim to expand our reach further to cover all of Western Europe, where there are still many opportunities. In the future, we may also venture into Eastern Europe, as these markets are expected to gain momentum in the retail sector.”
Closer to home, Sajo is also making its mark on the North American market with a particularly challenging project in Canada: Le Centre d’ art Battat( CAB). The client is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting artists and has secured substantial funding due to the innovative nature of the project. The project presented a unique regulatory challenge, as the team had to wait nearly a year to obtain the necessary code changes permitting a wood structure for public use exceeding four stories. The renovation is currently underway, with the company focused on completing the structural phase of the work.
▼ Centre d’ art Battat- Montreal, Canada
Impressive project portfolio
Diego also shares details about one of his favorite recent projects, completed for Apple, one of his department’ s key clients:“ We have been collaborating with Apple for more than 20 years, and we recently delivered a flagship store in Montreal. Spanning 20,000 square feet across four floors, the store encompassed nearly every aspect of construction, including cornice work, abatement, and historical restoration. For the restoration component, we had to involve the city and a specialized architect to accurately recreate the building’ s original patinated copper cornices.
“ Given the complexity of the project, we employed several advanced technologies, including robotic layout tools. We also conducted LiDAR and topographical scans to navigate the building’ s multiple floor layers. Because the structure dates to the 19th century, we encountered numerous unexpected challenges, making the involvement of our technology team crucial to the project’ s success. Overall, it was a very demanding endeavor that lasted nearly two and a half years, culminating in the store’ s opening on January 16. According to the client, it was one of the finest projects ever delivered across Apple’ s global portfolio,” he recounts.
Such intricate projects with highly specific requirements can make it challenging to integrate green building practices- something many retailers are increasingly passionate about. Victor explains how Sajo embeds sustainability into its projects:“ Among our retail clients, sustainability requirements vary. Some request LEED certification, while others pursue BREEAM certification or other highlevel sustainability targets. However, in retail- especially when building within existing malls- it can be difficult to achieve certification if the mall itself is not part of a sustainable program. To address this challenge, we developed our own sustainability program, inspired by LEED, BREEAM, and other certifications. We select
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