Bluewater Kent, UK designed by Benoy
Bluewater is an out of town shopping center , located in Greenhithe, Kent, England and 17.8 miles (28.6 km) east south-east of London. Situated on a 240-acre (97 ha) plot in a former chalk quarry, the centre has a sales floor area of 154,000 m2 (1,600,000 ft2) over two levels, making it the fourth-largest shopping centre in the UK (after the MetroCentre, Trafford Centre and Westfield Stratford City). Elsewhere in Europe only Istanbul’s Cevahir Mall and Vienna’s (Vösendorf) Shopping City Süd are bigger. The floor plan is a triangular shape with 330 stores, including 3 anchors, 40 cafés and restaurants, and a 13-screen cinema. The centre employs 7,000 people and serves over 27 million visitors a year. A main rival is the Lakeside Shopping Centre and retail park some nine miles (14 km) away in West Thurrock, Essex.
Words From The Architects : Winning a multitude of awards, Bluewater changed the face of retailing in the UK and became the benchmark for quality British retailing. Set in an exhausted chalk quarry in Kent, Bluewater provides 140,000m² of retail space with an additional 12,000m² devoted to leisure. Extensive research resulted in the triangular design to make shopping and wayfinding easier with anchor stores at each corner. Every aspect of the design was aimed at achieving benchmark standards and comfort was considered throughout.
