Designing successful and attractive Outlet Centres
Chapman Taylor has designed, delivered and refurbished outlet centres throughout the UK and Europe, bringing to these projects our expertise in creating socially and commercially successful retail, F&B and leisure experiences which attract visitors and encourage them to dwell. Our knowledge of the specific requirements of outlet developments is why owners and operators come back to us repeatedly to assist with their portfolio requirements. Below are some of our outlet centre projects in recent years.
Glasgow Harbour Lifestyle Outlet, Glasgow, UK
This 33,000m² mixed-use scheme will regenerate a prime waterfront location overlooking the River Clyde, within walking distance of Glasgow’s vibrant West End and cultural attractions.
The much-anticipated development will provide a mixture of retail, F&B, leisure, a flagship multiplex cinema and public spaces for events, activities and performances. The scheme is designed to attract people from diverse demographics, with a wide range of leisure options to ensure that the district is active throughout the day and evening
A new footbridge will also be installed, linking Glasgow Harbour Lifestyle Outlet with the Riverside Museum and improving connectivity with the wider area.
Lifestyle Outlets’ proposals for its £100m Glasgow Harbour development, designed by Chapman Taylor, were approved by Glasgow City Council in January 2020.
Ashford Designer Outlet Extension, Ashford, UK
Opened in October 2019, this extension to the existing designer outlet complex adds 46 retail, leisure and F&B units to the 80 already operating, as well as a new events space and a children’s play area. The canopy roof on the existing building was modified to tie the new area in visually.
A net 324 extra parking spaces have been created to serve the development, while links to Ashford town centre are being improved to facilitate the whole scheme.
Reflecting Kent’s status as “the Garden of England”, a living green wall of tens of thousands of vertically-stacked plants clads the centre – the largest living wall in Europe – greeting affluent long-haul tourists from Europe and beyond as well as day-out shoppers.
Chapman Taylor designed the new extension for McArthurGlen alongside Applied Landscape Design.
Designer Outlet Warsaw, Poland
Designer Outlet Warsaw is a unique retail destination in the city, providing discounted offers from major international brands. The new extension will expand the retail space by up to 5,500m², adding a third more space to the existing 17,000m² complex. The new wing will host around 30 new brands.
There will also be 400 parking spaces added to the current 1,200, in a new 22,000m² multi-storey car park.
The extension malls, façade and car park are being designed to complement the existing building, the architecture for which is inspired by Warsaw’s historic Old Town.
As well as architectural and interior design, Chapman Taylor’s Warsaw Studio is providing multidisciplinary engineering services and retail consultancy. Our role includes providing feasibility studies for the existing retail, interior design for the food court and the submission of various administrative applications.
ROS Retail Outlet Shopping, the operator of Designer Outlet Warsaw, expects the much-anticipated extension to open in autumn 2020.
The Watergardens, Lowry Lifestyle Outlet, Manchester, UK
The Watergardens at MediaCityUK is part of a new generation of leisure and shopping destinations which are putting entertainment at the heart of the experience they offer to visitors. Chapman Taylor is designing the transformation of the original Lowry Outlet for Lifestyle Outlets to ensure the centre’s social and economic success for many years to come.
The Watergardens will be an elegant setting for a diverse variety of restaurants, including casual and contemporary dining options, with the design inspired by, and making full use of, the bright southerly aspect and the best waterside views in Manchester.
The design will transform the southern frontage of the Lowry Lifestyle Outlet into a vibrant waterfront leisure and retail destination offering 3,230m2 of retail and F&B space at the heart of MediaCityUK. The development will also host the multi-sensory, adrenaline-inducing I’m A Celebrity… Jungle Challenge from 2020.
The Watergardens scheme will incorporate biophilic design principles to blend natural features, such as planted landscaping and improved natural light, with the urban environment. Existing waterside trees will be thinned out to ensure that the remaining trees have sufficient space to thrive, while also allowing for much-improved views across the water.
Gloucester Quays, Gloucester, UK
In 2013, Chapman Taylor was approached by Lifestyle Outlets, following the completion of Gloucester Quays, to identify opportunities to improve value and increase footfall through a review of the existing outlet centre and its wider context.
Our transformation of Gloucester Quays was a catalyst for further investment in the scheme and surrounding area, dramatically increasing footfall for both the leisure and retail offer and the night-time economy. In its opening year, footfall was about 1.5 million, but it is now about 7 million visitors per year, while sales growth is at record levels.
Our masterplan vision included a new leisure quarter within the scheme, anchored by a new 10-screen cinema within an existing, vacant retail block. The existing ground floor units were reconfigured to create a vibrant street scene with new restaurants and bars, which create the desired ambience throughout the day and into the evening.
The design was developed in BIM from Stage 3, including complex 3D designs of the cinema auditoria, the means of escape, the ground floor restaurant servicing and the acoustic separation.
Vicolungo: The Style Outlets, Novara, Italy
Designed by Chapman Taylor, the extensive refurbishment of Vicolungo: The Style Outlets included the redesign of the central square, canopies, street furniture, and other innovative features.
This project reflected owner NEINVER’s strategy of maintaining their outlet centres, creating the best environments, enhancing services to complement their commercial offer and creating unique shopping experiences for their visitors.
Vicolungo: The Style Outlets offers 150 major international brands and boutiques, with footfall of 4 million shoppers per year, over 34,000 m² of retail space.
Chapman Taylor has been at the cutting edge of retail design and urban planning for decades, and is constantly researching and monitoring market developments. The designs we create, from shopping centres and urban high streets to whole city centre districts, reflect our industry-leading understanding of how to design creative, successful and resilient retail schemes.