To this end, the new centre “needed to be
much more part of the town.” It had to link
seamlessly into the existing centre – which
it does on ground and first floor levels, but
it also needed to be “very permeable, very
open to the local community.” He says it
has achieved this, with improved linkages
through from the streets to north and south,
and provides better access to bus stops. The
central space also provides a new hub for
the community, an area that can host events
from food festivals to live music.
A twist on tradition
The extended intu centre contains two
floors of retail – facing into the central
events space, and restaurants facing onto
the High Street. Their frontages are broken
up into a variety of individual buildings to
better integrate the scheme into the local
architectural vernacular.
Cos explains: “We articulated the
buildings, taking some cues from the
existing high street.” A number of the new
facades have gable walls facing the High
Street, and there’s even one with a Dutch
gable wall, echoing others in Watford town
centre. “Each one is distinct in its own way,
and we tried to highlight each of the
characteristics of those buildings,” for
example using glazed bricks as the coping
to the Dutch gables.
Sitting above the retail level of the two
new buildings (beginning at first floor level)
are, respectively, the nine screen cinema,
and the bowling, although the brief was just
to provide a ‘warm shell’ for Cineworld –
including basic interior structures.
Cos says that the previous Charter Place
needed improvement in terms of how it
addressed the high street: “It was important
to maintain the high street, the existing
centre didn’t open up as much as it could
have.” Being a south facing facade, “it
really lent itself to creating some external
space.” Working closely with the local
authority, Leslie Jones designed a new piece
of public realm allowing the restaurants
along the front facade to spill out onto.
This was a key part of activating the
exterior and helping the development
merge with the town.
The entrance to the development is
signalled by a further twist on traditionalDIFFERENT CORNERS
The project’s entrance is framed by two units which
have ‘corner gables,’ leading the eye into the interior
of the new extensionPROJECT REPORT: RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS 39ADF NOVEMBER 2019 WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
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