viewpoint
Published: 15 October, 2008
It's difficult to know where to turn for some good news at the moment, but the opening of Cabot Circus in Bristol at the end of last month was a rare bright spot.
For anyone familiar with the windswept post-war Broadmead precinct, Cabot Circus will be a revelation. The new public space that has been created at the heart of the scheme has a real sense of theatre about it, with galleries and bridges sweeping over the malls, all beneath a dramatic glazed roof.
Despite its unprepossessing surroundings in Broadmead's old service yard I always had happy memories of Quakers Friars because several of my friends were married there when it was Bristol's register office. But now the medieval building sits in a well-proportioned public square surrounded by aspirational retailers and eateries. Seeing the square thronged with customers on a sunny autumn morning really brought home to me the power of retail development to transform city centres.
The building itself has found new life as a brasserie under the Raymond Blanc umbrella, so with Harvey Nichols opposite guaranteeing a stream of ladies who lunch, I suspect this is one restaurant he won't be closing.
I was also impressed with the way Hammerson and Land Securities have not cut back on their commitment to public art. Rather than investing in sculpture to stand in the malls, the works form part of the fabric of the scheme, in the form of engraved glass, shotblasted facades and a 'twisting' bridge over Bristol's ring road. Even the roof was conceived as a sculptural form rather than a mere canopy.
But of course we must acknowledge that Cabot Circus was conceived in a rather different climate to that we now face. It's safe to assume that the next generation of schemes will be rather more austere, which is a shame. We know that art in shopping centres doesn't generate rental income. Neither does it create commercialisation opportunities. But it does create a feel of quality which will keep shoppers coming back, and it enhances the contribution of Cabot Circus to the city as a whole.
Bristol had a very long wait for a retail heart that befits its status as the capital of south-west England. Now it really has thrown down the gauntlet to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, the out-of-town scheme that sucked so much trade away from the city centre. It will be extremely interesting to see how the Pru and Capital Shopping Centres respond to this new challenge. Significantly, they're already stepping up their on-site events programme.
Now all eyes are on Westfield London, the last big opening in this unprecedented run of new schemes. Expectations are high because Westfield has promised to set new standards in tenant mix, design and customer service. We shall see.
Graham Parker, Editor
