THE largest shopping and entertainment destination in Abu Dhabi, Yas Mall, opened to the public last month, a few days ahead of the 2014 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, national security adviser and deputy chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, inaugurated Yas Mall on November 19, situated on Yas Island. The 2.5-million-sq-ft mall, which was developed by Aldar Properties, provides its visitors with an exciting range of leading local, regional and international retail brands and entertainment attractions with nearly 10,000 covered parking spaces. It includes more than 370 stores, 60 of which are international restaurants.

Spanning three floors, Yas Mall offers 83 unique-concept stores, which further enhance the mall’s retail offer of local and international brands.

Yas Mall was designed to achieve a Two Pearl Estidama rating, Abu Dhabi’s sustainable framework for design, construction and operation.

It integrates a series of green strategies that make it a forerunner in the next generation of development in the Middle East.

Some of these strategies include the use of regionally sourced and durable materials including modular limestone flooring and wall cladding and the use of shading strategies such as vertical glazing that is protected from direct sun via deep insets, canopies and a brise-soleil system, as well as improved outdoor thermal comfort through landscaping and shading devised over exterior parking and primary pedestrian pathways.