Design Statement

The Manchester region has enjoyed the benefits of pioneering, world acclaimed developments for many years. Among these the Manchester Ship Canal remains a monument to man’s determination to be at the forefront of progress. Two years after the Ship Canal opened Trafford Park was created with its many large and innovative buildings.

The Trafford Centre, built for the 21st century and beyond, is a statement of belief in the area’s future and can be seen as a catalyst for the continued regeneration of Trafford Park and its surroundings. Shopping is very much a leisure activity and from the outset the Centre was conceived on a grand scale so as to attract consumers and entertain them from the moment they enter the site.

The Site

The site is flat with a small woodland radiating from the Centre to the west corner. Views into the site can be gained from the elevated parts of Junctions 9 and 10 on the M60. Views of the upper section of the building can be gained from the motorway along the western boundary where the statues above the colonnade create a sense of theatre and introduce the leisure area.

Surrounding the building are attractive landscaped areas, including the existing woodland area. Tree-lined walks lead people from the car parks to conveniently located entrances into the shopping and leisure areas.

The Plan

The basic layout provides a powerful shopping machine, with an even distribution of car parking around the Centre, created in such a way that half of all visitors enter at ground level and half at first floor level. Such an arrangement is vital to ensure an even distribution of pedestrians into the scheme, which guarantees all parts of the Centre are let to good tenants. The decked car parks, which are screened by a tall hedge and trees, give way at the centre of the scheme to a landscaped courtyard which forms the setting for Selfridges.

A large leisure area in the Centre, The Orient includes restaurants with a total of 6,000 covers and opens out into an elegant piazza called The Great Hall which houses upmarket restaurants, cafés and bars. This in turn opens out into the existing woodland, which provides the setting for a hotel.

Design Philosophy

The development comprises a series of major buildings predominantly inward-looking and linked by glazed malls of an extrovert character.

To try and express this development as a single formally composed building would be unsuccessful on account of the sheer size of the complex.

A more useful analogy would be a walled town where the major buildings, such as the department stores, together with the entrances, restaurants and glazed areas, provide architectural emphasis and excitement.

The glazed domes over the central malls define the Centre when viewed from a distance. From a closer perspective, the distinctive elements of the department stores and the multi-level leisure pavilion provide contrast and interest.

Goods service areas are located adjacent to the building and are contained and screened by a further wall – the outer town wall.

Car parking is broken up into discrete segments, each of which has its own automatic capacity monitoring systems which can relay messages for the benefit of drivers to dynamic advice signing on the on-site roads and on public roads approaching the Centre.

The Interior

Internally, the shopping streets are themed to emphasise the merchandising of the various sectors and are anchored by three major department stores. Regent Crescent links The Dome where Selfridges can be found to Debenhams in the west and takes the form of a wide gracefully curved space. Rich in colour and detail, it provides the setting for fashion and lifestyle retailers. To the east of The Dome is the more muted ambience of Peel Avenue which provides a complimentary blend of familiar names from the UK’s high street and is anchored by John Lewis.

The lighting, murals, sculptures, fountains, landscape and feature staircases all contribute to the theme of a particular area, providing visual delight and also locational points to help visitors to orientate themselves.

Great attention has been paid to safety and to ensure that every need of the shopper, including those with additional special needs is provided for.

The uniting theme of the enclosed shopping streets and squares is the glazed roof and punctuation of dramatic domes and shaped roof lights, which reflect on the granite floor and in fountains. The fulcrum is the main dome, an experience at the centre of the scheme, which is the meeting of the ways between the shopping streets, the leisure buildings and main vertical circulation. Domes create a special feeling and each level of The Dome provides a memorable experience.

The Orient to the south is a vast amphitheatre surrounded by restaurants and leisure activities. It is linked to The Dome and is also accessed from the outside through The Great Hall, an elegant covered piazza which houses upmarket restaurants, cafés and bars.

The leisure area is divided in two areas, The Orient and The Great Hall. The Orient focuses on an ocean liner and from the decks visitors can step into different worlds, including Morocco, China, Italy, Egypt and America. Here a vast choice of food in themed restaurants, awaits the explorer. This, together with the Odeon 20-screen cinema and family leisure facilities, continues to entertain the visitor long after the shops have closed. During shopping hours, The Orient provides an ideal venue to relax and enjoy a meal at one of its restaurants.

The Centre is appealing and fashionable; the place to see and be seen and a brilliant reflection of the northwest’s cosmopolitan style.