Driving the Retail Experience

Working on behalf of Intu and JLL, we were commissioned to help improve the visitor experience and sense of arrival at the Manchester Arndale. Having been redeveloped and extended over the years the shopping centre had re-established itself as an important part of the city’s retail and leisure landscape.

However, the improved customer experience inside sat in stark contrast to the arrival experience by car which is completely disconnected from the revitalised Arndale brand. To solve this juxtaposition, it was important our design input to this project dovetailed seamlessly into the remodelling of the multi-storey car park that was being undertaken by the client’s landscape architect and urban designer Squareyard. This provided the opportunity to collaborate closely to develop a solution that met the needs of the client and customer.

The subsequent designs were driven by extending the internal experience out into the car park, by harnessing the Arndale’s strong branding within the car park setting. Doing so, helped in a number of ways, most notably by humanising the space through bold and clear wayfinding to make navigation easier, as well as adopting a vibrant colour palette and striking patterns. We were also keen to future-proof the car park from a sustainability point of view and did so by incorporating dedicated pedestrian zones, secure bike storage and charging points for bikes and cars alike.

Our car park design exudes a strong retail feel, one which resonates with the internal environment of the shopping centre. Customers would be more inclined to use the car park, encouraging the use of the Arndale as the first port of call in Manchester which is great for the retail and leisure operators and a more pleasant shopping experience of customers.

“We knew the sense of arrival for customers from our on-site car park was the missing link in the improvements we’ve made at the Arndale and we needed a company with the right design skills and property understanding to help us improve this.”

Sector Retail

Completion 2017

Client | JLL, Intu Properties, M&G Real Estate

Behind the Scenes