At Sandown Crossing , the main building was positioned on site , in accordance with good retail principles , some of which are that the entrances and parking must be visible from the main roads , the parking has a natural flow and service areas are hidden behind the building with separate access .
An active road edge on Sandown was an important aim without losing visibility to the tenants in the main building . This was done by slanting the main building footprint away from the road edge so that future development sites were created on Sandown Road . The development of these sites is currently underway and will consist of drive-through restaurants , a gym and future big box tenants .
The massing on site will eventually achieve a mix of the required retail visibility and road edge definition . The phase 1 development , as it currently stands , has a big design element to contend with : a 450m long single storey façade .
This is where this building type usually loses all sense of scale ; trying to identify with one ’ s relevant location is impossible and one only knows where one is if you read the signs , so to speak . By breaking up the façade into three legible components on a rhythm that binds it all together , Sandown mall becomes a more meaningful and friendly place to be .
The elements in each component in turn had a sensible function . The main component that one can immediately read , on the approach to the building , is the three large boxes that split the building into quadrants . This is where the building steps down the slope of the site and in these boxes are the ramps and linger spaces . This is where you find enclosed spaces with natural light and coffee shops or restaurants with seating spaces that can be opened on summer days .
The connection elements between these dwelling spaces consist of main entrances for the major tenants and the walkways that connect them . The entrance features are large scale face brick elements that not only provide the aesthetic and signage but also house the plant slabs for the line shops . The fine grain walkways form their own rhythm -this has the appearance , from the main road , of a meander motif that ties all the elements together .
The combined effect is a walkway with an aesthetic and scale uncommon to Value Retail as it was designed to feel like an external mall , not a walkway in the parking area . It takes a person away from the parking edge and noise . The design has enough flexibility to allow glass or screen treatment if tenancies change and require screening from the wind .
372 Sandown Crossing