Queensgate Market and the Piazza Shopping Centre – Huddersfield
CBRE
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Bowman Riley was appointed to undertake a feasibility study on the Queensgate Market Hall and the adjacent Piazza Shopping Centre in Huddersfield town centre.
The entrances to the Queensgate Market and exterior of the Piazza Shopping Centre were dated and in need of a refresh to continue to attract shoppers. The site is located adjacent to existing listed Town Hall and Huddersfield Library and Art Gallery buildings and as such our proposals need to be sympathetic to its neighbours.
The 1968-70 Queensgate Market Hall is a Grade II listed building. The market is architecturally unique made from reinforced concrete building partly clad in Elland Edge stone and innovative glazed ceramic panels by sculptor Fritz Steller. The roof is made up of 21 columns supporting asymmetrical hyperbolic paraboloid concrete shell umbrellas.
We undertook a feasibility study to upgrade all existing entrances to the thriving market hall. The focus of our design proposals was to improve accessibility to all users at the front of the bui0lding. Additionally, we improved connectivity to a new development at the rear to encourage greater footfall.
On the adjacent Piazza, we prepared a full planning application for external façade alterations and internal retail unit layout rationalisation. Our designs involved the upgrade of the façades to unify the retailers’ shop fronts and entrances to form a contemporary outdoor shopping centre. We introduced localised canopies over the shop entrances for each retailer to individually brand.
The overall objective of the project was to create a contemporary retail experience with improved entrances and exteriors for better accessibility and increased footfall.