MICA on creative districts and retail
We are welcoming Gavin Miller, Director, MICA Architects to our November forum who will be speaking on creative and retail quarter developments. He will join TATE, the Stoke-on-Trent Cultural Partnership, Bexley Co, Vastint, Homes England and the National Infrastructure Commission at the Royal Arsenal Woolwich where a new performing arts centre and venue is being planned in the midst of the extensive residential and retail development.
The future of creative and retail districts has been of great concern to the UK government and both the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the GLA spoke at our previous forum on the future of the high street.
MICA has just completed a part re-design of the Grade II listed Centre Point Complex, in St Giles, Central London. The architectural practice's scheme demolished the two-storey least valuable aspect of the original building composition and replaced it with a new precast concrete ten storey element. The new building provides 13 new units above retail, including 40% new family housing.
A distinct new space creates activity at street level through improvements to landscaping, surfaces and routes, as well as a triple height glass fronted retail unit. It received unanimous praise from the Design Council. The opening of Crossrail at Tottenham Court Road will make the area around Centre Point one of the busiest in the city, so this new public realm and retail space is vital.
Gavin has lead or been involved in a wide range of projects ranging from cultural master planning at Greenwich Maritime, the South Bank Centre and the Lyric Hammersmith to mixed use masterplans for Gilston Park Estate, Barking Town Centre, Pudding Mill Lane and Milton Keynes.
He has led large scale campus masterplans for the Universities of Lincoln, Southampton and East London and the delivery of award winning educational buildings such as the School of Architecture at Lincoln and the Arts and Design Academy at Liverpool John Moores University. Gavin has also led the design and delivery of Chester Balmore, one of the largest residential Passivhaus schemes in the UK, for the London Borough of Camden.