Exploring the future of the high street
The challenge of how to revitalise Britain’s high streets has long been a preoccupation for us at Jestico + Whiles, so the opportunity to apply our ideas to Oxford Street, one of the busiest shopping streets in the world, was exciting.
Our team recently took part in re:store, an ideas competition and charette organised by SAVE and Architects’ Journal that focused on Marks & Spencer’s Marble Arch store. Our vision reimagined the building as a ‘Palace of Sustentation’ that would support the circular economy under the motto ‘Make Do and Mend’. It appeared on the cover of the SAVE summer newsletter, and in the July edition of Architects’ Journal.
As a sanctuary for slow fashion, the building would host training programmes, workshops and a community hub, demystifying the craft of repair and reuse. Accommodation on the upper levels would allow staff to “live above the shop”, as well as providing homes for students and young people. Oxford Street would be pedestrianised, allowing greater interaction between street and store.
