PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: THE VILLAGE, WHITE ROSE SHOPPING CENTRE, LEEDS
Specified by: Harris Partnership, Wakefield
Project Overview
Constructed in 1997, The White Rose Centre is one of the UK’s premier retail and leisure destinations. Located to the south of Leeds, it provides 814,500 sq ft of retail and leisure space.
White Rose’s owner, Landsec, has now completed a 65,000 sq ft leisure extension to the main centre called ‘The Village’, which has enabled the shopping centre to offer new dining and entertainment experiences, including an 11-screen Cineworld IMAX cinema, and a range of restaurants.
Constructed by Morgan Sindall’s major contracts business, the scheme also includes a number of landscaping improvements to create a new outdoor area that can be used for seasonal events and pop ups.
Design Requirements
For the large elevations of the cinema, the design concept called for a matt, slate-effect ceramic granite finish to create an illusion of infinite space between expanses of bronze across the long facades on each side of the building and the shaded glass facades at the rear. The restaurant outlets have been positioned in a horseshoe with a central landscaped area. The units have been designed with an active frontage, with extensive glazing to create connectivity between the indoor and outdoor spaces and enable each of the occupiers to maximise the impact of their brand. Shackerley’s SureClad® Ceramic Granite was specified in the same matt, slate-effect for all the frontages of the new restaurants, providing a ‘blank canvas’ to maximise the impact of branded signage for each outlet and create contrast with the beige of the hard landscaping.
Materials used
Shackerley’s large format ‘Rio Black’ SureClad® Ceramic Granite panels were specified as part of a Kingspan BENCHMARK Karrier Panel system, which brings together Kingspan’s high performance structural insulating panels with the premium appearance and longevity of ceramic granite. The completed hybrid system also delivers excellent airtightness and low U-values.
The project required the prefabrication of more than 1100m2 of SureClad® Ceramic Granite. Alongside standard 1196 x 596mm panels, around two thirds of the panels required bespoke cuts (including hundreds cut to site measurements), due to the complexity of the installation.
There was also an extensive need for bespoke installation-ready SureClad® facade components, including bracketed single-piece soffits, returns and birdsmouth details, all of which were prefabricated in installation order to match the requirements of design drawings.
