Westfield Shopping Centre | Stratford City
Where I grew up, shopping centres like ‘Tyger Valley’ and ‘Canal Walk’, were the paramount of an retail experience. But all I can remember is their badly imitated water features and florescent walkways. Even now after living in England for quite some time, I would rather go to my local high street over a mall. This time I decided to make my way to Westfield and I was honestly pleasantly surprised.
Navigation & Signage:
Getting to the centre was very convenient. The Central line, Jubilee, Overground or DLR takes you straight to Stratford and from the tube you directly enter the centre. The first thing you notice is each store from Greggs to Boots has a high end feel. As soon as you step inside there is a concierge desk that was very happy to help. Signage was not very subtle, using large electronic billboards and signs. It did not bother me that much, as every sign was thought through and well designed from layout to font type choice. The size of the actual building is really impressive. I went quite early and walking around was such a pleasure, finding a store was easy and getting back to the exit was not a problem.
Lighting:
Lighting is one of the most important elements in a store. Westfield used a lot of natural light, with large open space. For areas with not a lot of natural light they use smaller spot lights. Steering clear from the typical florescent lights was the best decision. Florescent lighting can be strenuous on your eyes and can make shoppers tired after hours of exposure.
Communal Areas:
The communal areas are large, but not a lot of seating. There are a few Eames style chairs and couches scattered around, but to me it did not look like enough seating space for shoppers. The chairs did look good,maybe a bit out of place at times, but even simple benches for shoppers in the larger walkways would of helped.
Keeping the children entertained
Overall Design:
Large sharing tables, modern furniture, glass, Serif mixed with Sans serif text, wood, marble and good use of space. To me this sums up Westfield Stratford. Yes it is a place you avoid during peak seasons like Christmas (crowds may cause a stampede), but as far as a shopping centre goes, Westfield far exceeded my expectations.
Favourites:
The Waitrose is grocery store perfection.
This little shop is too cute, I am being a little biased as I am a big fan of the cupcake.
Kiehl’s store is quite overcrowded, but it is still inviting with a strong concept.
AllSaints really make use of their big floor space.
The Kooples. Probably one of my favourite store layouts of all time. But keep a look out for a separate post on this.
Urban Outfitters. They do such a good job at keeping their store equity, I just love this Brand.
Not sure what this restaurant is called, but I really liked the booths.
Gilly Hicks is a lifestyle brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch. The whole front of the store is video footage of Bondi Beach surfers, very engaging concept. Infront of this store is where they needed those extra benches.
I really like the wooden frames Pull&Bear used, also check out there website, pretty neat.
Encouraging recycling, always a nice touch.
I thoroughly enjoy your insights and find your study both informative and enjoyable. Being a Capetownian I chuckled with regard to your comments as regards Tygervalley and Canal Walk, I could add a couple more (the water features are still the same). Malls or shopping centres as we still call them all offer “more of the same,” unfortunately we do not really have a High Street option.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you Clive, great to hear from a fellow Capetonian. Your encouragement means a lot!