The entrance is the first part of a shopping centre encountered by shoppers and the impact needs to be big. Shopping centre managers recognise the need to pull people, who may not be aware there is a centre round the corner or tucked in between two shops, off the street. An entrance has a huge impact on where shoppers choose to spend their cash and must stand out to draw their attention to the offer.

Manchester Arndale is currently going through a huge programme of refurbishment and extension and its new entrances have been designed to increase footfall.

The whole concept of the entrance redesign was 'Entry Experience'. Centre manager Glen Barkworth says: "When we started looking at the centre itself, the new development gave us tremendous opportunities but that left the remaining side of the centre with certain issues.

"We wanted to look at a later stage at replacing the entrances and we did. We spent a lot of time looking at the shopper's approach to the centre and how they could access it excitingly."

Barkworth says other centres that they looked at seemed to focus on creating a lot of interest inside the entrance but less on getting people interested from the outside.

Now all entrances at Manchester Arndale, designed by Chapman Taylor, have doors from Dormar which are fully glazed and fully automatic and are 50 per cent higher than traditional shopping centre doors. The glazing itself is 20m high and half way up is the main Manchester Arndale logo in massive red and black letters - all lit up to help attact attention, in particular during the dark months of the year when the city enjoys only a few hours of daylight.

"Previously we had dark, dismal glazed doors with a steel surround that you had to push open, making it difficult to wheel buggies through," adds Barkworth.

"We have seen footfall increase by 14 per cent this year but we also opened the additional area to the centre so it wasn't all due to the entrances."

Inside they've 'created a sense of arrival' with 10m high ceilings. "The floor became a massive discussion point as well," says Barkworth. "In a lot of the area we've actually put a granite slab down with a roughened surface rather than the smooth granite." This has been placed over the first 20ft after the entrance matting to ensure fewer slippages.

The newly refurbished and extended Frenchgate Interchange in Doncaster has also undergone a huge transformation.

The multi-million pound project was completed in June and the main focus of refurbishment was on improving access for the disabled.

At the main entrance to the centre, from St Sepulchre Gate, a completely new glazed feature has been installed and the existing doors have been replaced with new DDA compliant glazed doors that fold back completely to allow deliveries and displays to be brought in.

The new rectangular, semi-glass lifts in the atrium, installed by Independent Lifts, are 50 per cent bigger and take much less time to travel between floors, providing better access for people in wheelchairs as well as for parents with buggies. Two further public lifts in the original half of the centre and 11 public lifts in the new extended part of the centre have been supplied by KONE.

Three new escalators were also installed during the project, replacing two older versions and making it much easier to get around the centre. The layout of the escalators has taken into consideration the 350,000 sq ft extension to the existing centre, the opening of the town's new integrated public transport interchange and the pedestrian flows for the stores within the centre.

David Wells, director of Scarborough Development Group, says: "In the original half of the centre we have removed the existing two escalators and replaced them with three new KONE escalators. This improved layout is contributing to an excellent experience for both our customers and commuters.

"As a result of the development we have significantly improved access for the disabled. New lifts have been installed that exceed DDA guidelines and all entrances have been designed to meet the needs of the mobility impaired."

Sheffield's Meadowhall is also nearing the end of a large project, replacing and updating its central escalators, which is part of an ongoing larger £1.5m programme to replace all lifts and escalators throughout the centre. The works involve removing the old escalators and the water feature, and replacing them with escalators from Schindler. Dunbar and Boardman have acted as consultants and completed the specification for the new installations.

Jonathan Dodsworth, project manager at Meadowhall, says: "Once finished the area will look updated with high modern standards and state-of-the-art equipment; however, the team felt it was important to keep the feel of the centre and the customer experience. For example, the lifts that we'll shortly be replacing were made especially for Meadowhall and we'll be replacing them with a very similar design, keeping the high quality brass finishes."

The main escalators are being replaced during one of the quietest trading periods to limit disruption and the full programme of replacing the centre's four escalators and three feature lifts is expected to be complete in March 2007.

The water feature, which runs down the centre of the escalators, will also be updated using state-of-the-art UV water filtration technology, which will kill bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms present in the water without the need for heat and chemicals, to produce clear water.

Otis technology has been selected for a large-scale south London revitalisation development along the Thames. The company was chosen by Land Securities and Bovis Lend Lease to supply and install 45 lifts for three modern buildings at Bankside 123 - a retail, media and business centre.

Otis president Ari Bousbib says: "Otis has established long-term relationships with Land Securities and Bovis Lend Lease, and we appreciate the confidence they have once again demonstrated in us by selecting Otis for this major London project."

The project, located near Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, will feature Gen2 elevators, Otis' patented flat-belt, machine roomless product, in a variety of capacity and speed configurations.

Neil Pennell, engineering director for Land Sec, says: "There's a great deal of complexity involved in the delivery of such large-scale developments and it's therefore essential that we have innovative and reliable suppliers to partner with us. Otis has provided a well-engineered solution for Bankside 123, which is helping to regenerate an important part of south London."

A new solution for retrofitting high performance entrance matting is now available from international matting and floorcovering manufacturer Plastic Extruders.

In existing buildings there's often the need to upgrade the entrance matting to meet increased standards of cleanliness and to reduce maintenance costs, but this can involve the heavy expense of retrofitting a matwell in the subfloor or the aesthetically less acceptable laying of matting on top.

Frontrunner Entrance Flooring System uses a thinner version of proven Frontrunner Plus, which has an exceptionally low overall profile of only 10mm. The matting can be easily retrofitted to fit flush by removing an area of carpet tiles, carpet or hard floor tiles and then inserting the entrance flooring system into the space created.

Customer-friendly entrances

The smoking ban in Scotland, which is set to hit the rest of the UK next year, is presenting shopping centres with the need to find alternative options for their smoking shoppers.

Alfresco is marketing their Rendez-Vous outdoor smoking zone - a place where smokers can gather in a pleasant, comfortable environment. Sited at shopping centre entrances, and modelled on cocktail cruising tables, the smoking zones are also designed to keep shopping centre entrances clean of cigarette ends.

The concept has already been welcomed by shoppers and managers - The Quays in Newry is trialling a unit, while the concept has already proved popular at the White Rose shopping centre in Leeds.

Research has shown that almost a third of shopping centre visitors are smokers, and what's more, their frequency of visits to shopping centres and their spending patterns mean smokers spend 15 per cent more than the average shopper.

"Smoking bans, whether they're introduced by a shopping centre or enforced by law, are good for business," says Michael Logue of Alfresco. "They're popular among non-smokers and smokers alike and they make a shopping centre a more pleasant place to visit.

"But they can also have the effect of reducing smokers' dwell time by up to 25 per cent. So anything that says to smokers: 'we welcome you and we care about you' is going to have a positive effect."

The Rendez-Vous units, which are installed by experienced personnel who have served the shopping centre industry for over 10 years, include four A4 panels that can be used for revenue-generating advertising.

Screen FX's InfoPods are also often located inside entrances, at escalators and by elevators, where footfall levels are high.

Shopping centres are therefore able to deliver a variety of communication messages. Choosing areas around escalators and elevators is particularly effective because of the increase in dwell time as visitors are literally stationary. They also provide advertisers with the opportunity to highlight stores and offers on different levels of the mall.

Entrances on the other hand provide the opportunity for powerful advertising communication and centre welcome points while shoppers are still considering where to shop and in which direction to head.

David Hughes of Screen FX says: "The wayfinder was the initial reason to have the InfoPods at the entrances. It's very important we give people information and move them on quite quickly. You don't want people to be queuing in an entrance to a shopping mall, so everything is instantly available."

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