Shoppers have long delighted in the arresting architecture of The Trafford Centre – and now it seems our iconic malls have influenced the design of other public buildings!
News comes to me of a school in Manchester which was actually modelled on The Trafford Centre. The £40 million Radclyffe School in Chadderton mimics the wide boulevards and walkways of the Centre – after pupils demanded a modern, spacious and inspiring building in which to study.
Now, the school has even been recognised by the experts, as it won a major accolade at the Local Authority Building Control awards in the city.
Judges praised the futuristic design for its use of domes and glass frontages. The school is topped off by a see-through roof, and its central walkway is lined with plasma screens – just like ours. There are outside areas and landscaped courtyards for students to enjoy fresh air between lessons, spiral staircases and planting schemes.
Headteacher Hardial Hayer is quoted in the Manchester Evening News as saying: ‘It doesn’t look like a school. Our pupils wanted a modern design, and they got what they wanted. You feel inspired every time you walk through the doors. It has really set the tone for classes, and both students and staff are really motivated.”
It seems strange that a school has been designed to look unlike a school – based on a shopping centre which is famous for not looking like a typical shopping centre!
Our founding fathers did their architectural research in Las Vegas, amongst other places – and it was the bright, airy glass-vaulted ceilings and classical scale of what they saw that gave them the inspiration for the Centre.
Now, it seems that architects have learned that what suits shoppers can also suit schoolchildren.
Something we have known for a long time!
* What do you think of The Trafford Centre’s architecture? Let me know!
Tails of a Mall Rat 