Upfront

UNLOCKING HIDDEN CONSTRAINTS IN HIGH-STREET REGENERATION

Structural engineer Jubb explores its role in reimagining retail schemes designed to reconnect communities, drive footfall and restore pride of place.

In May 2021, Debenhams closed its doors bringing 243 years of retail history to an end. Almost a year later, The Guardian reported that 90% of the original 166 stores remained empty. Similarly, following BHS’ collapse and closure of 160 units in 2016, the BBC cited that a quarter of the demised brand’s real estate still stood derelict four years on.

These once-celebrated anchor sites are now a socioeconomic scourge on town and city centres struggling to lure consumers, tenants and commercial investors alike.

Jubb, a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and planning design consultants, is currently involved in repurposing some of these former flagship buildings in South Wales. Here, Director Marcus Tulloch addresses, perhaps, the greatest challenge in the successful delivery of such regeneration schemes: dealing with the unknowns, and highlights how an early engagement approach – with all stakeholders – helps mitigate many of the issues stalling the repurposing of vast and valuable retail space.

The high street isn’t failing, its function is changing according to the High Streets Task Force. Observing the move away from retail-dominated schemes, towards multifunctional, experience-led uses has been happening for some time.

The onus is now on placemakers to tackle the noticeable increase in prominent, unoccupied sites with a greater sense of urgency. Acknowledging that, while the reuse of buildings has the potential to increase project risk, any concern relating to the condition of an asset can be overcome through careful investigation, detailed historic research and targeted due diligence. Ensuring as many ‘unknowns’, become knowns, as quickly as possible.

What’s more, the sustainability benefits of reuse over replacement are clear. The embodied carbon saving should speak for itself but, in truth, the perceived design limitations of working within an existing envelope can also be a factor. Bringing the vision to life needs full commitment from a project team that’s prepared to let go of conservative thinking.

Regenerating in response to market dynamics

Leading local authorities in Wales are rising to the challenge by focusing on the creation of regional community facilities. This aligns with the Welsh Government’s ‘Town First’ initiative, which champions investment supporting its long-term ambition for 30% of the nation’s population to work from, or closer, to home.

A key strand being the repurposing of vacant buildings into co-working spaces and encouraging public sector organisations to transform derelict sites into vibrant civic amenities. Promising to bring a welcome hustle, bustle and economic boost back to those areas that suffered the most. Beacon of hope

For authorities, such as Swansea, this means moving public services into centrally-located hubs housing health, wellbeing, education, leisure, tourist information, employment services and other bodies of cultural interest.

An exemplar project of this nature is the former BHS building on Oxford Street, Swansea, with construction getting underway this autumn.

Main contractor Kier was awarded the £15m development in August 2022 and occupancy is anticipated in early 2024. The 1950s-era building will take on a completely fresh look featuring striking translucent cladding, which can be backlit to, quite literally, shine a light on the array of community services on offer.

With some 300,000 visitors currently using the existing council building near the seafront, the hope is a more central hub will not only make these vital services more accessible, but will bring many more people working, shopping, spending and benefiting from the revitalised city centre.

Legacy buildings that won’t break the bank

Jubb is providing civil and structural services as part of the client design team – alongside project manager Coreus, architect firm Austin-Smith:Lord and building services consultant SDS. The design team partners have worked on previous developments that also place a great deal of emphasis on ensuring the external envelope is inviting and in keeping with its public building use.

Inside, Jubb has been instrumental in securing plans that include a new grand staircase. Working to ensure this stand-out architectural feature can be a viable part of the approved designs.

By applying practical thinking, the Jubb team is supporting the Oxford Street development in staying true to delivering a fantastic, yet not flamboyant, high-value scheme. For example, carefully devising the layout to infill dominant features from the building’s retail past – such as escalators – to maximise available floor space for future use.

Avoiding hidden costs

Given the sheer size of these former department stores, there is indeed tremendous scope. Structurally, anything may be possible but budget is almost always a constraint and, as highlighted, the biggest challenge on any refurb project is the unknowns.

With this in mind, it’s important to tackle, from the outset, the additional challenges that come with designing for multifunctional uses. As is the case with community hubs housing numerous services. Good understanding of a building asset ensures any limitations are exposed as soon as possible, but can also unveil hidden potential too. An example being spare load capacity.

Specialist tenants may have heavier loading requirements than a typical department store can accommodate. This needs to be addressed during the design process but may only be uncovered through an engineer’s early appointment and expertise. 

UPFRONT Integrating technical, design and social factors

Aside from bringing the engineer into the design and planning stages as soon as possible, they should also have a role in enduser engagement. A step that can sometimes be overlooked at a cost to the client’s purse strings and the pace of delivery.

Guiding and assuring potential occupants of the suitability of the build for their specific needs is crucial. The ultimate aim, after all, is to fill the space, and inviting the engineer in to truly understand the nuances of those needs can only result in better design outcomes and enhanced marketability.

Engineers are rational and benefit from being exposed to emotional insight in order to devise solutions that sing to hearts, minds and the balance sheet. It helps if the chosen partners have a personal stake in the ground and are genuinely passionate about improving the locality.

Ensuring successful outcomes – together

In short, taking an agile and inclusive approach is critical to keeping costs under control – without compromising so far that the vision is entirely lost. Interdisciplinary design teams with the right dose of creativity and technical know-how can achieve far more efficiency by working together.

As has been the case in the progression of the Swansea community hub scheme highlighted, an early and allencompassing engagement approach is critical to the successful delivery of resilient high-street regeneration.

By embracing a more collaborative stance, repurposed redevelopment is being recognised as a force for good, for local communities. Seeking interdisciplinary expertise and partners, with a genuine, vested interest in the building’s legacy, brings teams together that will collectively ensure the focus is on outcomes over outputs – transforming empty real estate into transformative regional facilities.

The structural engineer’s role is helping to unlock the hidden constraints that often stall progress and result in surplus costs. Using technical know-how to demonstrate ‘the art of the possible’ in pursuit of the game-changing opportunities that more diverse real estate use truly represents.  www.jubb.uk.com