Princesshay

Our team, led by Adrian Griffiths, produced a vibrant and modern city centre full of open space, enhancing the environment around historic features such as the City Wall and opening up new views of the famous Cathedral. Formerly an outdated 1950s shopping precinct, Princesshay is now a focal point for the city, with a mix of residential and retail space and large pedestrianised areas ideal for pavement cafés and sites for many of the city’s festival events. The traditional ‘service yard area’, which detracts from the appearance of many of today’s towns and cities is now underground, so more space is left on the surface for people and businesses. Other notable features include: • open street design ensures natural ventilation rather than using air conditioning, • light from energy-saving bulbs within the buildings illuminates the streets at night without the need for street lamps, • timber used in construction is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council. Crucially, Princesshay benefits from our philosophy of making cities unique, in a deliberate move away from the ‘clone’ town and city look which many people complain of in other areas of the UK. Statistics: • 121 residential units • 39,000 m² retail GLA • 5 restaurants/A3 units • 12,000 m² department store • 400 parking spaces • Shop mobility and improved bus links • Tourist information centre and heritage visitors’ centre