37 ANNIVERSARY
in Southampton alive with Martin Myers of Imry and Neil Mitchenall of agents Lunson Mitchenall. Drummond, would later lead a team commissioned by government
on “The Effects of Out of Town Retailing on Town Centres” — the result of which helped form the first PPG6 planning guidance. “The mood of the times was difficult — development activity had
fallen off a cliff — there was no public sector capital expenditure, and the world was not as accessible as it is today,” Drummond, now chief executive, says. “We were about to enter a time of reflection. The boom years of the late 80’s had a “we can do anything” kind of mood — I even remember looking at the potential for a floating shopping centre on the Thames (not a bad idea actually). But there was a need to see how to get activity going again.” The major developers were changing personnel and a younger
generation was taking over that questioned some of the excesses, and the trader developers were going bust. So a new generation was about to start thinking about urban regeneration, and town and city centres. It was in this time that some of the early principles of the urban renaissance schemes were germinated, even if it then took another 15 years for them to come to fruition. “Shopping centres were being completed — the Bentalls Centre in
Kingston being the culmination of the late 80’s developer competition projects — high spec, four-level, borrowing much from the States,” he adds. “But these were designed in ’86 to ‘88, so newer design thinking was confined to projects that would take a long time, plus the out of town malls that were consented before the planning clamp-down. And neither was going to be repeated for a long while.” Andrew Ogg, MD of Leslie Jones, has witnessed industry change
from a unique perspective. In 2004 he became president of retail property organisation BCSC — the first architect to do so. “In 1991 the UK was just finishing a boom period where every local
authority wanted its own shiny enclosed shopping centre which was generally located on secondary brownfield land extending the prime pitch of towns,” he says. “At the same time we had had a massive growth in out-of-town regional centres which had been assisted by the Thatcher Enterprise Zone rules. In October 1990 we completed the development of Merry Hill in Brierley Hill on the site of the former Round Oak Steelworks.” But 20 years on Government view has turned 180 degrees. “Today
we are focused on the Government’s ‘Town Centres First’ policy, looking to reinforce our existing town centres with an agenda of integrated uses, urban streetscapes, improved quality of architecture and public realm being strongly pursued,” Ogg adds. “Our current projects reflect this new approach.” In 1991, New York based architect Eric Kuhne took a call from
Stuart Hornery. The Lend Lease chairman asked him to fly to England and look at a project called “Bluewater” - a project that had been kicking around for nine years.
“No one in the UK could make the thing stack up commercially,” Kuhne recalls. “We flew to the UK, spent a week doing a competitive
The “market place of ideas”
It is only a one-page document but it contained a powerful message. Entitled “Market Place of Ideas” it was conceived and presented by architect Eric Kuhn and was made public in 2001 and essentially set out his credo about retailing and shopping destinations. “It’s never been about the transaction, or the merchandise
for that matter. Markets exist because of trust. We surrender our self-sufficiency to others who, by their industry, can make our lives easier, as their lives are made better by ours. Souk, Bazaar, Market, Arcade, Mall, Passage, Exchange or
High Street; they have always shared one basic principal — trade. Commerce between people. One needn’t look far to find the most sustainable examples, for all true markets endure not because of the merchandise but because they are part of the routine of life in that community. Shopping, by itself, is an empty endeavour, and has soured
the art of giving that is so essential and the best part of our lives. We go shopping to buy something for ourselves or for someone we care about. Anything that chips away at this gift-giving experience cheapens our lives. The future of the mall? For as beguiling and innocent that
question is, it requires a touch of hubris in response. I suggest that, once again, ‘past is prologue’. The convenience and comfort that a covered shopping street offered is unmatched…and yet this typology must find its way into the town centres of our cities instead of the perimeters. We must build for people who seek to spend a day with their
friends and families instead of shopping alone. We must restore our centres of our cities as chambers of commerce. And, in doing so, we will restore the pageantry of civic life. Trade is what breathes life into towns. But it is not just
trade in commodities, manufactured goods, services or even experiences. The city has been and always will be a Marketplace of Dreams.”
Eric Kuhne (2001)
audit on all the other centres, and wrote a single fax back to Lend Lease: “You can’t write a cheque fast enough for this opportunity!” Bluewater marked an architectural step-change. The concept
design was by Kuhne. Benoy, led by Graham Cartledge, undertook the architecture delivery. For Kuhne it not only marked a move to the UK (a three-month stay turned into 18 years and British citizenship), Kuhne’s Civic Arts is now designing on five continents.
Find out more: For more information, please contact the author:
anniversary@jldmedia.com
April 2001
March 2001
March 2001
Planning minister Nick Raynsford praised The Brewery in Romford on a pre-opening visit. He said it was one of the best schemes he had seen in a long time.
The Chimes in Uxbridge welcomed more than 250,000 visitors in its first five days of opening.
Capital Shopping Centre’s
Portsmouth’s £200m Gunwharf Quays shopping centre opened.
April 2001
shopping complex, Pillar’s 570,000 sq ft Fort Kinnaird in Newcraighall, Edinburgh was launched.
www.shopping-centre.co.uk July 2011 SHOPPING CENTRE
Then the UK’s largest outdoor
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