BALTIMORE, MD (1/28/14) — Baltimore-based design, planning, architecture, interiors, and graphics firm DDG has been named to design two new retail projects in Ghana.
DDG will be responsible for master planning, architectural design, environmental graphics, and coordination with local architects for the two projects, which will be located in the capital city of Accra on Ghana’s southern coast and in Kumasi, five hours northwest of Accra in Ashanti, South Ghana.
While DDG previously has worked in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Egypt, the new retail projects mark the first time the company has worked in western Africa, according to DDG Chairman, CEO and President Ahsin Rasheed.
“We are very excited to have this opportunity to bring contemporary shopping malls to two of Ghana’s largest cities and two areas which at present are greatly underserved in terms of access to retail,” says Rasheed.
While design is only at the preliminary stage, each of the new retail centers is expected to feature grocery and department store anchors, a cinema, food court, and in-line retail, along with surface parking and, in the future, a hotel and possibly a residential component.
“The Accra site, which will be located on 22 acres, will be accessible via the main roadway in the area – George Walker Bush Highway – and will incorporate a stream which runs through the middle of the property,” notes Rasheed, “while the Kumasi retail project will feature a large, open park for gathering, dining, or simply relaxing.”
DDG is recognized as an industry leader, with a reputation for producing quality, innovative, and visionary design for more than three decades. Among the company’s many highly successful, award-winning commercial endeavors are Istanbul, Turkey’s Istinye Park, Pondok Indah in Jakarta, Indonesia, Easton Town Center near Columbus, Ohio, and the 2013 ICSC Latin American Shopping Center Award winning Portales retail project in Guatemala City.
 
About DDG
Baltimore-based DDG delivers inspired planning, architecture, interiors, graphics, and design solutions that transcend convention, invite and explore new possibilities, and celebrate the power and pageantry of public space. An industry leader with a reputation for innovative thinking and visionary design, DDG’s ingenuity, creativity and professional passion for designing sustainable, evocative and iconic energized environments has earned the firm its status as an industry leader and global leader. For more information, visit www.ddg-usa.com.