THE FUTURE OF THE HIGH STREET
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for everyone. In short, as he says, the high street is no longer just about retail. “For us, architecture is the art and science of making sure our cities and buildings fit with the way we want to live. “We also believe at our core we have to be optimists,” said Mr Roberts. But his optimism is tempered with words of warning, knowing as he does that it is important to make the right changes. “Architecture,” he adds, “Is a cruel mistress.” As he points out, online also continues to adapt – with varying degrees of success, from drone deliveries to the more successful click and collect, blurring the lines between the internet and high street. But his main point is that retail trends are ever changing, that we are already adapting to our new environment and, importantly, some of our towns and cities are creating something new and exciting. Some of those reinventions of our buildings hit hardest by the recent changes are already making high streets social hubs again. Leisure and residential are sweeping into areas which were once purely retail. Lines are blurring as new possibilities are explored. "House of Vans in London is a space not just where you can buy the latest of the American street shoes but enjoy art, music, fashion, cinema, café culture, live music venue, and even skate. “There is an increase of‘brand playgrounds’ like NikeFuel Station at Boxpark in East London with its treadmills, motion-sensor digital walls and interactive mirrors.
“And there is an increase in affordable town centre living as people return to live here not just young professionals, but larger homes for families. Townhouses make a comeback. “There is an emerging focus on placemaking to create unique identities for town centres focusing on local strengths, history and culture. “Workplaces are emerging too – in the form of inner city business parks, educational establishments and large businesses returning to the centres of our towns and cities bringing new energy. “Which is giving food service and entertainment options to expand and diversify. Towns are showing they can become more vibrant, dynamic, inclusive, safe, meeting and interaction places.” Mischievously, Mr Roberts demonstrates his argument by asking the Cheltenham audience what they would think if one of the town’s most iconic stores were to close. “If Cavendish House were to become vacant howmight it be transformed?” asks Mr Roberts, mischievously. “Cavendish House poses a huge challenge, but also a fantastic opportunity. “It is a large complex store over multiple levels unlikely to remain suitable for retail in the future, but it holds a prominent location along the Promenade and is well connected to surrounding streets. “You could retain ground floor retail facing out onto The Prom, high profile with good footfall, reducing the unit sizes to allow for smaller ‘experience stores’, divided flexibly to allow for changing requirements.
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84 | December 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com
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