Whiteley village factory outlet in Hampshire was chosen to under go a major revamp. The shopping village’s use as a factory outlet was failing to meet the needs of the community, and in turn the centre was struggling financially. The transformation began in 2011 when McLaren was appointed to carry out the rebuild of the shopping centre. The existing development was to be demolished, and the area redesigned to incorporate local shops and to become more community focused. The aim was to create a contemporary, attractive, high quality centre designed with the shopper in mind.
Architects Corstorphine + Wright saw a stainless steel tree grille at another development which they wanted to replicate throughout the Whiteley Village scheme. They wanted a similar design that would incorporate features such as integration with irrigation systems, lighting units and bespoke access hatches to enable power supplies to feed into the tree grilles. Unable to find an ‘off-the-shelf’ design, Furnitubes worked closely with the architect and contractor to design and produce tree grilles to suit their requirements. Furnitubes surveyed the existing design and modified it to incorporate the lighting, irrigation and hatch features. In total 41 tree grilles in four different designs were supplied, helping to enhance the public square and external areas of the shopping centre.
