Enhancing Canterbury High Street with Sustainable and Inclusive Design

Client

Gallions Reach

The Project

Gallions Reach, an expansive retail park just off the M4, is more than a place to shop: for the borough of Newham, it has also served as a stopping point for shopping, dining, and a community centre that has seen the run of charities taking over its expansive spaces for a good cause.

Built in 2003, it has been in constant operation since then, and has seen thousands of visitors in that time. Years later, its popularity hasn’t waned – but its initial design, which was created at a period of high development with a utilitarian approach, no longer fits the vision of the park’s overall plan as a community hub. With most of the park in excellent condition, Furnitubes was tasked to create an environment more in line with the future of Gallions Reach, while retaining the elements that had made it such a successful shopping centre in the past – and working around the existing feature lampposts!

Outcome

A comfortable place to sit will always encourage people to linger, and for a community hub like Gallions’ Reach, the opportunity to sit after a day of shopping was welcomed with aplomb.

Two ladies, who frequently attend Gallions Reach for shopping, said that it’s lovely to have somewhere comfortable to sit when they take their children to play, and that they look forward to waiting for each other on the benches while the children play in the soft play area.

An elderly couple, shopping with their grandchildren, could sit in comfort while they waited for their grandchildren to return from their shopping. And the workers of the area, who spend most of the day behind tills, look forward to having somewhere to sit on their breaks, in the sunshine and by the low, green plants in the planters.