Odeon Arcade, Leicester

The Odeon Arcade (a former cinema) sits in the heart of Leicester’s medieval quarter, adjacent to the city’s 700-year-old market, which is currently undergoing refurbishment (visible with blue hoarding in the images).

​Our scheme will provide homes for up to 105 people, arranged around a beautifully landscaped central courtyard. The design meets modern standards, but also ensures the development integrates harmoniously with its neighbouring surroundings.

​

​A new high-quality arcade will offer 13 retail units, creating an improved connection between the market and Cank Street. This vibrant and dynamic space is set to become a lively hub for both public and retail activities.

​​On the Market Place elevation, we have preserved the iconic Art Deco façade while introducing additional floors accommodated within a carefully designed slated mansard roof. The original "Odeon" signage has been thoughtfully incorporated into bay windows, blending heritage and modernity.

​

​On Cank Street the existing brutal façade harms the local medieval context. The five storey blank elevation to the rear of the site on Cank Street is also considered to contribute negatively to the area, particularly its overbearing featureless flat facade which contributes little, with almost no active frontage at ground level nor windows or details to upper floors. ​Our scheme works within the existing massing, but breaks the building down into smaller "buildings" echoing the narrow plots that historically occupied the site and creating a new façade which reinstates the historic brick and stone frontages and echoing narrow plot sizes that can be seen elsewhere along Cank Street

​

At ground floor, new shop fronts are created using a series of 'Art Deco' curved glass bays that are inspired by the building's existing prestigious Market Place elevation and that add grandeur. These also form gentle sweep lines that lead pedestrians into the shopping arcade passageway through the site or that form the new entrances to the residential units above or other ancillary spaces adjacent.