M&S Foodhall, Northallerton
by GT3 Architects
Client Jomast Developments
Awards RIBA Yorkshire Award 2017
The project description by the design team coins a term ‘Healing a Historic Town Centre’, which is most apt and draws its inspiration from the morphology of the existing urban grain of Northallerton. The site for the new food store brings together what was a fragmented site littered with various outbuildings from the previous life of the hospital, now relocated to new purpose-built facilities.
The three-gable ended shed like structures are striking yet monumental in appearance and respond well to the varying roof lines of the existing context, whilst being effective in breaking down the large single volumes of the 10,000sq foot retail space. The sensitive nature of the context, together with planning and conservation constraints, have clearly been beneficial in exploring the contextual sensibilities through sculpturally abstracted form, material, scale and massing in what the design team defines as:
“…a building that blends the best of the old with a contemporary character that is both of its time and place. A series of linear forms reflect the burgage plots that make up the grain of the High Street whilst the sectional form steps up and down in height to mitigate the scale of the development…This bold yet sensitive scheme reflects the rich heritage of Northallerton, but in an overtly contemporary form that meets the need of modern occupiers and will transform this important gateway into the Town Centre.”
The aims and the objectives of the food store provide a positive and a considered contribution to the street scape as a built form, which in time will become part of the Northallerton’s fabric and identity, whilst the utilitarian nature of the spatial requirements remain functional and pleasant with much potential for different uses in the future.
Contractor Jomast Developments
Structural Engineers BGP
Landscape Architects Colour UDL
Planning Consultancy Nathaniel Litchfield & Partners
M&E Engineers Hill Lawrence Group
