A serpent, a giant larva, a bulging vein, or a river. Seen from above, the structure of Médiacité, a large shopping complex in the heart of Liège looks like a huge stained-glass window. This striking artery which swells and winds its way for some 450 metres forms a covered passage, the central walkway of a vast shopping mall completed in 2009 to revitalise a former industrial zone. The roof was designed by the Israeli industrial designer Ron Arad, a leading figure in provocative experimentation, with a global reputation for his playful furniture with rounded, sculptural forms. For the Liège project, he switches scale to take on a major architectural challenge – that of updating the oft-decried architecture of the mall.