Title: | Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street ( ORB ), London, UK |
Markets: | Retail and Workplace, Public Realm |
Client: | Westminster City Council / The New West End Company |
Services: | Masterplanning and urban design |
Region: | United Kingdom |
Status: | 2007 |
Team: | Gillespies, Pinniger and Partners |
Oxford Street is Europe's largest high street and a world-famous shopping destination that attracts around 200 million shopping visits yearly. Gillespies have provided a series of proposals to transform the Capital's public spaces and streets.
The ORB Action Plan focuses on the West End’s major retail streets and in particular Oxford, Regent and Bond Street. This strategy sought to improve its previously narrow and cluttered pavements, which had become unsuitable for their intense usage. Gillespies produced concept design proposals and a strategy to define a vision and to radically these streets both as public places and shopping destinations, as part of a five-year programme to regenerate a number of the capital’s most prominent spaces.
The design for Oxford Street addresses the streets physical appearance and usage, improving the narrow and cluttered pavements, whilst at Regent Street and Bond Street, the strategy focuses on preserving their special character and appeal. The practice produced a series of proposals for each street including paving restructuring, lighting, way‑finding and innovative proposals to make the pedestrian experience more enjoyable.