BDP’s Elements
Square Opens
17 Oct 2008
Elements Square, the £130m extension to the Almondvale shopping
centre at Livingston in Scotland opened to the public on Thursday 16 October.
This marks the sixth major retail-led scheme designed by BDP to open this
year.
Elements Square, owned by Land Securities, is a major retail addition
to the town centre. Conceived as six separate buildings united by a transparent
ETFE roof, it creates a new public heart for Livingston, and includes
a major covered tiered space with an upper level wintergarden.
photo © Adrian Price BDP
The scheme adds approx 35,000 sq m of retail to Livingston bringing the
total retail offer to over 90,000 sq m. It has attracted anchor stores
Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, and created 34 new unit shops plus
seven restaurants and two multi-storey car parks. Central to the scheme
concept is a new tree-lined avenue of restaurants and bars, to ensure
vibrancy both day and night.
Built with high sustainability credentials it is the first covered retail
scheme in the UK to receive a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating. The buildings
are highly insulated and constructed from low environmental impact materials
with a long design life such as terracotta, stone and zinc. The public
spaces are ventilated by an energy efficient air displacement system with
natural air and smoke extract. Other environmentally friendly features
include rainwater harvesting for flushing toilets and solar panels for
preheating hot water.
BDP was appointed as masterplanner, architect, landscape architect and
sustainability consultant. Other consultants were Arup (structural engineer
and acoustic designer), Blackwood Partnership/Wallace Whittle (services
engineer), GTMS (project manager/employers agent), Gardiner and Theobald
(cost consultant), Scott Wilson (highway engineer), Montagu Evans (Planner),
Pinniger & Partners (lighting designer), Faber Maunsell (BREEAM assessor).
The contractor was Miller Construction.
Elements Square Almondvale Shopping Centre Livingston image / text
from BDP Architects 211008
The Elements:
Construction of £130m The Elements shopping centre by developer
Land Securities underway with multi-storey car park due to open Nov 2007
and the centre as a whole by Oct 2008
The Elements Images from Beattie Communications 121007
Livingston Buildings
Elements
Square architect : BDP
St
James Shopping Centre Scotland
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Buildings / photos for the Livingston Architecture page welcome:
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Elements Square Livingston :
Building page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt
The Elements, Livingston - Website: www.theelementslivingston.co.uk