across to the main stadium and the Aquatics Centre. The design – a simple four-storey, square


format with a central atrium rising through the retail floors – responds to the setting. Within, storage is arranged along the two sides of the store, reflected in the solid stone and metal wings of the building. This allows the retail floors to be expressed externally front and back as dramatic curved glass facades that receive the mall on the north-east face and address the Olympic park on the south-west elevation. The Southern Boulevard approaches the eastern corner of the building, where the two-storey high 'Place to Eat' and the cafe are housed in an expressive curved ‘prow’ that cantilevers out beyond the street frontage to provide a focal point at the end of the vista and an appropriate signal of this major outlet. The new John Lewis store has a total floor area , of which 14,399m2


of 23,876m2 is retail space;


this comprises four storeys for the John Lewis store, which rises above the level of the Olympic Park and a Waitrose store below. The ground level to the north east is 8m lower than the Olympic Park, allowing the larger Waitrose store beneath to open out at the lower-ground level of the mall towards the international rail terminal. The support storage space to the north-west elevation is clad in metal panels; this presents an honest expression of this support element in the design and visually separates it from the retail building. Either side of the square retail floors, support accommodation; stairs at each corner and storage in between, are expressed as deep stone walls. The use of pink/grey York stone rainscreen


cladding gives the anchor an appropriate gravitas that is commensurate with its primary role within the development as a whole. These ‘walls’ are slightly concave to animate the pedestrian route


to the south-east of the store from the retail centre, and to the Olympic Park. Projecting boxes that house functional elements within the wall, stair landings, lifts, and customer spaces on each floor, push through the wall to bring life to the surface as a counterpoint to the sweep of the curve. The exposed sales floors are, therefore, expressed through the concave glass screen walls to the front and rear of the store. These have been designed as articulated screens suspended away from the building, allowing a zone along the perimeter to screen the internal fit-out within. One of the major considerations was how


to introduce light and a sense of continuity into the store without allowing the internal fit-out to compromise the external appearance. The fritted glass allows a translucency that creates a dramatic decorative screen to both protect the internal environment from solar gain on a practical level and to provide a strong identity to link it closely to the identity of the site and the regeneration of the area. Circles measuring 1.2m in diameter, are


arranged in a matrix over the whole surface, appearing to show four layers that peel away towards the centre of the facade to allow more visibility out from the store, thereby taking advantage of the spectacular views. In contrast, on the opposite elevation towards the mall, the density is reversed to fade out towards the corners to allow views out from the café and Place to Eat in the prow. The building is simple and robust but provides


a level of lightness in the decorative screens to give it a character that reflects the fabric and soft furnishings’ within. It also allows for flexibility so that the store can adapt to any future changes which may be demanded by the rapidly changing retail world.


1,3-4. Exterior, John Lewis 2. Central atrium and escalators


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