Debenhams and the Slingfield Mill

As I mentioned earlier this year the addition to the fronts of the Slingfield Mill were supposed to retain the façade of the front a notion that the pdf'ed mockup flatly laughed at.


So here's the reality:

Well it matches the PDF, shame it completely obscures the brickwork. But wait that's the back, surely the front allows you to see through:

Oh yes that allows a nice clear view. On the plus side they have retained the brick inside so you can admire it as you travel up

or down the escalators

Yeah easy to admire. Anyway, getting inside proved problematic as the entrance is set on the corner with two doors 'south' and 'east' however once you get past them into the little entrance foyer the door to get into the actual store is 'west' and is the only one; which incidentally also serves as the exit. So everyone bottlenecks at this point as people exiting try to avoid people coming from two directions as those entering try to avoid those exiting and those entering via the other door. Well done nice design there folks.

I also had fun getting out. I took the up escalator to get the shot of the brickwork (so as not to get in everyone's way as they enter the building) and then puzzled over how to get back down again. Likewise a set of signs telling me that the ground floor is womenswear doesn't help when I'm looking for menswear; unless I missed it, putting a sign a the base of the escalator would be helpful.