Oxford Westgate wins Revo Gold ‘Re:new’ Award

Westgate shopping centre in Oxford, which Chapman Taylor delivered, has won a prestigious Revo Gold Award in the ‘Re:new’ category, which honours the best retail reconstruction schemes.

The awards ceremony took place at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 5 December. The annual event brought together 1,000 of the most influential figures in the property sector and is one of the most anticipated events in the UK retail industry calendar.

Revo, formerly named the British Council for Shopping Centres (BCSC), is an organisation which aims to shape the future of retail property by working with the government and others to help develop a beneficial regulatory environment.

Westgate Oxford shopping centre replaced a 1970s shopping centre, and provides 74,300m² of contemporary fashion, film and food. Westgate Social, a street-food and leisure hub sits on the lower ground floor, while restaurants and a cinema complex can be found on the roof terrace, offering wonderful views of the city’s spires.

The innovative design of the development introduced a mix of covered streets, lanes, arcades and squares, while retaining part of the existing centre. Two public squares - Bonn Square and Leiden Square – were created as places for visitors to relax, in which pop-up events and exhibitions are hosted.

Chapman Taylor, supporting Laing O’Rourke, delivered the landmark regeneration project on behalf of a joint venture between Landsec and The Crown Estate. The development was the largest shopping and leisure development to open in the UK in 2017.

Chapman Taylor developed the scheme alongside Laing O’Rourke using BIM (Building Information Modelling), which enabled direct data transfer of precast façade, structure and core designs into fabrication software used in off-site manufacturing facilities.