We were commissioned to lead the regeneration of one of the largest outdoor markets in Europe. Leicester Market has traded continuously in the heart of the city for over 700 years, and our starting point of the 3-phase Masterplan was a new food hall that would set the tone for everything that followed.
A new heart for a historic market
The project replaces the previous indoor market centre with a light and airy modern pavilion that gives the market’s meat, fish and deli traders a home worthy of their trade. Built from steel, glass and timber with a zinc roof, it is a building that feels contemporary without turning its back on the history surrounding it. The scheme was part of a £7m redevelopment plan announced in 2012, with the food hall opening in May 2014
In 2014, Leicester Market Food Hall was recognised with the Leicester Civic Society Award for Architecture, celebrating the quality of the design and its contribution to the city’s historic market place.
Designed in dialogue with its context
The curved roof takes its cue from the scale and proportions of the Grade II* Listed Corn Exchange next door, allowing the new building to hold its own as a distinct architectural entity while remaining subservient to its historic neighbour.
The traders make it what it is
Leicester Market has been trading on the same site for over 700 years, and the food hall we designed is built around the people who bring it to life every day. From Sherwin’s Cheese Company, supplying artisan British and European cheeses since 1977, to fresh fish and shellfish sourced from Brixham to the Caribbean, the traders are the reason people keep coming back. We designed the light and airy space, with its glulam roof beams and generous natural light, to let the produce and the people selling it take centre stage.
Behind the design
1/3 The plan + ceiling
The site was extremely constrained. The plans here show the unusual fan shaped plot we had to bespokely design each traders’ pitch into – maximising their retail offering while providing the necessary storage and prep spaces.
The trading floor is clear of columns, and the façade clear of bracing. This was achieved by large, curved, glulam beams that were all tied together with a diaphram room which providing the structural stability.
2/3 The form + structure
The adoption of the curved roof allows a clean geometry to connect a number of scales; the outdoor market with the proportions of the Corn Exchange, drawing the eye to the listed building, and the food hall which rises up in scale to address the new public square to the west.
The new building is lightly connected to the city’s historic Corn Exchange by a cantilevered glazed ‘divide’ which articulates the two forms.
3/3 Unheated, naturally ventilated
A fundamental part of the design was the thermal modelling ran on the (largely glazed) building. Protecting how the building would respond thermally throughout the year, without the use of heating or any mechanical ventilation, was a key driver to design decisions.
The building is well insulated to mitigate peak temperatures in the winter, with actuated ventilation louvre supporting the natural ventilation in the warmer months.
The result is a low-energy, sustainable building, where the savings are passed onto the traders.
“I’ve been waiting to trade in a building like this….”
