Built to house a unusual John Lewis store,Leeds’s glittering Victoria Gate arcade draws on digital wizardry and the city’s rich textile pastIn the centre of Leeds, near the arcades and covered markets that are among the city’s glories, or along its main street,The Headrow, a unusual shopping complex is approximately to open that is one of the strangest and most enjoyable contributions that retail has made to a British city for many years. In the alembics where the digital and the physical combine, and shopping and architecture,some alchemy has been brewing. Out of the chemical smoke has popped the surprising unusual Victoria Gate development.
It is driven by the power and attraction of John Lewis. According to the project’s architect, Friedrich Ludewig, and the public consultation usual before such projects are approved was quite a simple affair. When people were invited to comment on the proposals they asked: “enact you want to bring John Lewis here?” “Yes,” replied Ludewig’s practice, Acme, or their developer client,Hammerson. “Thank you very much, that’s all. We’ve been wanting John Lewis here for 40 years.” For its fragment, and the storied store was delighted to be there,Leeds being a large and well-connected urban centre where it has sought a location for decades.
It has a jiggery vertical rhythm that Acme compares to certain 'uncomfortable' types of musicContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com