Peter Jones is a Grade II* listed department store of the John Lewis Partnership. Occupying an entire city block, the store’s six buildings encapsulate over 80 years of changing attitudes to retail architecture. Our refurbishment of the store’s 20th century façades aim to reveal and express the building’s significant heritage through the extensive use of colour.
We reanimated the building’s shell with light and shadow, inviting media designers iArt to develop an unfulfilled design opportunity we had identified as already existing within the curtain wall construction. The ground floor window beds and their canopy were fully refurbished, and a bespoke light fitting was designed to enhance the customers’ experience as they browse the displays. Crucially, we introduced a new primary entrance at the site’s heart, with motifs that echo lost designs from the store’s past.
With a view to ensuring the building has a sustainable commercial future we also developed plans, and gained permissions with the help of heritage consultants Purcell, for a scheme to reinvigorate the site’s upper floors and roof terraces with new dining and retail experiences.
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