grand central, birmingham

GRAND CENTRAL, BIRMINGHAM
Haskoll acted as lead architects for Grand Central in Birmingham. The goal was
to create a new vision for the retail environment transforming the Pallasades
Shopping Center into a world-class premium shopping and dining destination
integrated into a major transport hub. This scheme, which won a BCSC Gold
award, now sets the benchmark for retail and transport design.
BY DAVID LEECH, IMAGES; HASKOLL
PROJECT TEAM
Client Network Rail
Concept Architect:
Station, Atrium 3 Exterior
of John Lewis AZPML
Executive Architect of the
Station: Atkins
Architect for Grand Central:
Haskoll
Façade & Atrium Structural
Engineer: AKTII
Structural Engineer: Atkins
Mechanical Engineer:
Hoare Lea & Atkins
Quantity Surveyor:
Faithfuli Gould
36 ACROSS 2|2016
The Pallasades Shopping Center was built in 1971 as
part of the redevelopment and expansion of New
Street Station in Birmingham. This development
created a 13-platform railway station, the busiest
outside London, with a single-level shopping center
above. This once-modern building had become
dated and inadequate as both a station and a retail
environment. It gave a poor experience of arrival into
the United Kingdom's second city. The existing
Pallasades Shopping Centre created a poor impression and low market retailing. As the Pallasades was
one of the main routes in and out of the station, it
was dominated by fast-moving pedestrians keen to
reach their destination rather than spending time or
money within the center.
A new design for the station was developed by the
client and the council that would reconfigure the
station to create better connectivity to the city, more
space for traveling customers and a light, modern
environment with an atrium. The idea for the exterior of the building, developed by the concept architects AZPML, was to wrap the building in a polished
stainless steel façade.
With the refurbishment of the station underway,
Haskoll was appointed by Network Rail in 2010 to
create a world-class, premium shopping and dining
destination above a major transport hub that could
be developed without closing the station. Haskoll's
vision was to enhance the customer experience,
creating a high-quality retail environment around a
new atrium, integrating the station and shopping
center to create a sense of destination. This
£150-million (€189-million) scheme now provides
over 40,000 square meters of retail space with a fullline John Lewis department store, 66 shops and restaurants, and 450 parking spaces. It will benefit from
an estimated footfall of 50 million visitors per annum.
"The redevelopment of Grand Central
The majority of the John Lewis store is located over
the area to the south of the station and shopping
center that was occupied by two residential towers.
This site was clear from the constraints associated
with building above the railway tracks and the structural limitations associated with the existing building.
This location achieved the spatial requirement of
John Lewis for a well laid-out store, dedicated service
yard, and connectivity to the car park and associated customer collect. The building also achieves
good visibility from the surrounding area.
has been a key project for the city,
stimulating economic growth, creating
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DESIGN CONCEPT
over 1,000 jobs, and acting as a catalyst
for regeneration in the surrounding area.
With its central location in the heart of
the city, it will be a key element of
Birmingham's ever-improving retail and
architectural landscape."
SIR ALBERT BORE,
LEADER OF BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL
DESIGN LAYOUT
The retail layout was developed to achieve a natural
pedestrian flow around the center that is easy to
understand and navigate. This builds on the connectivity from the station below. The dining areas are laid
out around the atrium, creating a new place to be in
the heart of Birmingham. The retail mix of the center
was developed to achieve high-end retailing new to
Birmingham around the three sides of the atrium,
with destination dining experiences around the
edges of .the atrium. This layout connects into
Birmingham's existing retail offer to form a new
prime retail circuit.
The interior for Grand Central is built upon the ideas
that inspired the design for the station and developed the connections with the romance of train
travel, both historic and modern. Birmingham was
once renowned for the construction and design of
railway carriages and trains. The Birmingham Railway
Carriage and Wagon Company was one of the many
companies based in and around the local area. The
company manufactured carriages for LMS, SR,
LNER, GWR, and Pullman as well as foreign train .
companies in countries as diverse as Egypt, India,
Iraq, Malaya, Mandate Palestine, South Africa, and
Nigeria.
David Leech is Director at
Haskoll. He joined the
company in 1995. Leech is
currently working on town
and city center projects in
the UK as well as retail and
transport related projects in
Scandinavia. These include
the refurbishment and
reconfiguration of Itakeskus,
the largest mall in Finland.
He has been responsible for
many concept designs for
shopping center developments and re-configurations.
In addition, with his team,
Leech has been responsible
for the design of refurbishing
and remodelling of schemes
from design through to
implementation.
"Grand Central Birmingham fulfils all of
our criteria for a new store-a landmark
retail destination with high footfall and
a quality retail mix, including our
neighbors John Lewis. We look forward
to selling books to new customers in
the West Midlands, whether they be
local residents, visitors to Grand
Central Birmingham, or travelers
The atrium itself took its inspiration from the lines of
railway tracks and their junctions. The sinuous lines
of the new roof and columns are reminiscent of the
points and crossover tracks themselves, with the
new public realm and exterior developed from the
idea of reflecting the movement of trains, customers
and sky. One of Haskoll's initial idea was to extend
the shopping center to the south to create a fourlevel department store. This idea fulfilled the requirement for John Lewis, as well as cleverly solving the
buildability issues of working within the constraints
of a complex existing building. It was this idea that
evolved into the scheme that is now built.
passing through New Street Station."
SAM HUSAIN, CEO OF FOYLES
Birmingham had an international reputation for its
standards of workmanship and carriage building, one
that naturally progressed to the manufacturing of the
automobile. The mall, as a reference, becomes akin
to strolling through a very luxurious train carriage
carrying only the finest goods. The food terraces
become the dining cars with individual booths afford- • ! • * • •
ing privacy while offering a window into the world via
the view into the atrium and the concourse below.
••*•!*
212016 ACROSS 37
•
DEVELOPMENT
ABOUT HASKOLL
Haskoll is an internationally
recognized firm of architects
and designers, delivering
award-winning designs,
ranging from large new build
developments and mixed-use
regeneration, to contemporary
remodeling and refurbishment
projects. Haskoll's creative
teams deliver commercially
successful and innovative
schemes across a variety of
architectural sectors
worldwide, creating value for
their clients. Acting for leading
developers, insurance
companies, pension funds,
and local authorities, Haskoll
also provides specialist
consultancy advice.
As well as dining on the terrace, cafe units inhabit the
spaces at the north and south ends of the atrium.
These units have the advantage of 360-degree views
of the unit and of the open space above, where the
mall ceiling opens up to the ETFE atrium roof above.
Flooded by natural daylight during the day, tenants
were encouraged to enhance their lighting by localized methods within their demise. Cafe operators
within the atrium space provide a sense of place and
a convivial and comfortable location in which
customers can relax and refuel.
"Grand Central Is Birmingham's newest
shopping destination and one of the most
striking city-center retail experiences
found across Europe. Bringing numerous
shops, boutiques, and restaurants into
the center of the city and fully integrating
with the world class New Street Station,
the area joins some of Birmingham's
traditional streets in creating a new
landmark building for the city."
JEN HALE, HEAD OF PRESS OFFICE FOR KIEHL'S
38 ACROSS 2|2016
DESIGN INTERIOR FINISHES
The design of the new flooring was selected to give
a warmth to the center and to provide contrast to the
dark and light granite banding used at concourse
level. With a pallet of Dura limestone, Nero marble,
and wood, the floor layout was developed to reflect
both the movement of the customers and the tenant
mix. The ceiling features in the food terrace and
entry points to the center with their copper and
brass colors are reminiscent of the railway carriages
of the steam era.
Design guides and reviews with each of the tenants
were undertaken to maximize the opportunities for
their fit-out designs to share the same vision. This
was important for the dining terrace, where clear
sightlines and a unique environment at the heart of
the center are key to its ambiance. The scheme as a
whole has transformed a poor, dated environment
that people wished to escape from quickly to a new
destination at the heart of Birmingham. It has created a new understanding of how major transport hubs
and retail environments can work together to create
a new experience based on quality and openness.