Retail design and planning for Lidl Supermarkets
Our experience extends to design and planning solutions for mid-sized supermarkets around the West Midlands – providing high-quality retail architecture in well-connected locations.
Experts in retail architecture
Our team at Lapworth have a great portfolio of work as retail architects projects with Lidl supermarkets, and we have most frequently been appointed as architectural consultants to gain planning permission for stores in unusual or prominent locations that need a little more experience than usual..
As a company with a strong corporate identity, Lidl needs their stores to be instantly recognisable and for their architectural spaces to reflect the core principles of the Lidl standard.
We have often been asked to work with difficult sites where a standard Lidl store layout has been unacceptable and meet with Planning and Conservation Officers to create a building that is individual to the site but retains the look of the brand.
We were able to redesign and re-present the projects and gain the necessary consents in for the stores in Sutton Coldfield, Wincanton, Melksham and Dagenham.
Our experience in listed buildings and conservation areas has also been helpful, and we were appointed to deal specifically with a Listed Building issue in Willenhall, near Walsall on a Lidl project. We’ve also worked with more contemporary architecture, as we incorporated a unique Lidl store into a Grade II-listed contemporary building in Bath.
Although our focus as retail architects is largely on design and planning, thanks to our previous form with the company, we have also undertaken work for the Construction Office, in particular working up tender information for new build and refurbishment projects – broadening our experience in the sector even further.
Lidl Sutton Coldfield
We were engaged by Lidl to design a new store on the site of a former car dealership on Kings Road in Sutton Coldfield – the unused site was something of a local eyesore and regenerating the area with a retail site was thought an appropriate use.
The previous buildings blended well into the existing street, but renovating them and providing access for for supermarket parking (featuring a new priority access) was entirely unfeasible.
Lidl had previously submitted a planning application for their standard store but had not been able to achieve consent, so with our knowledge of the local planning authority and our previous experience with Lidl, Lapworth Architects designed the scheme to be more modest and appropriate in terms of streetscape, and more sustainable as a mixed-use development.
Given its location on a busy arterial road in an urban context, we took the standard Lidl store and redesigned the principal elevation to the main road to help the store sit better within the immediate surrounding. The main frontage onto Kings Road was designed to maintain the rhythm of the street, with a series of gables fronting Kings Road and a mixture of hip and gable ends, following the pattern found elsewhere in the street.
The rest of the store remained largely as the standard specification, and materials more in keeping with the local area – such as render and brickwork – were selected to further integrate the building into its surroundings. The low line of the building and its discreet profile made it entirely suitable for this commercial suburban setting.
Lidl Bath
In a rather more unusual project, we were commissioned to look at the reuse of the Grade II former Bath Cabinet Makers building, situated off the Lower Bristol Road which is one of the main arterial routes in to Bath City centre.
The existing building has been unoccupied for some time and was suffered from vandalism and neglect, endangering the unique building’s listed status.
The project for Lidl wanted to give the building a new lease of life and make full use of the flexible building plan which sees the inclusion of a Lidl food store in part of the building and a number of retail units in the remainder.
The proposed refurbishment of the BCM building will act as a catalyst for local regeneration, whilst it will resurrect a vacant and tired building of historical importance for industrial architecture . The refurbished shell will also act as a focus to the Lower Bristol Road, one of the main arterial routes in the city of Bath.
The site was acquired by Lidl for their first store in Bath, and with our previous work for the German chain in Sutton Coldfield, our technical expertise and the fact it was a listed building, they came to Lapworth Architects to design this new store in a prestigious building in a prestigious part of the country.
Lidl Alum Rock, Birmingham
With several stores under our belts, we were engaged by Lidl to design a new store for the Alum Rock area of Birmingham after our experience working on their store in Sutton Coldfield.
The site had a fair amount of restrictions, being a former public house with car parking and a bowling green on a prominent site at the junction of two major roads in this busy suburb – but the site had a great deal of potential.
After initial consultation with the Local Authority it became clear that a standard Lidl store would not be acceptable at this site given the prominent site and active frontages to two major roads.
We carefully designed the store with a prominent elevation to the junction of the two roads, in doing so creating a pedestrian plaza in front of the store. This end of the building featured a coffee shop, the first ever within a Lidl store in the UK. The other prominent elevation was re-designed to create an active frontage to the street whilst still maintaining the general layout of a standard Lidl store.
In addition to Lidl, we have also worked on mixed-use projects with Sainsbury’s in Birmingham and Budgens in the Cotswolds – once again our specialism in designing and getting planning permission for retail developments in tricky locations comes to the fore.
If you’re looking for planning permission for retail and mixed-use schemes in the West Midlands, give Lapworth Architects a call on 0121 455 0032 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Why Lapworth Architects?
Experienced
Our 20+ years of work mean great design and good relationships with planning departments across the region to give our projects the best chance of getting your planning permission and starting building.
Affordable
Your budget is tailored to your needs so you’re always on top of your costs. We’re proud to offer excellent value for money for our services, from design and planning right through to build.
Knowledgeable
Our breadth of knowledge makes us an efficient and sustainable choice of local architect, and we have a real vested interest in improving our own built environment right here in the West Midlands.
Professional
At whatever stage you’re at with your project, if you’re looking for honest, quality advice from professionals, chat to us, leave us a message or call us on the number at the top of the page. Let’s talk!