Westgate Shopping Centre

Masterplanner BDP’s Oxford Westgate project is a 800,000 sq ft retail-led mixed development providing space for 125 shops, restaurants, cafés and leisure use including a boutique 5- screen Curzon Cinema and a flagship John Lewis department store and includes buildings designed by Allies & Morrison, Dixon Jones, Panter Hudspith and Glenn Howells Architects.

The final design used multiple brick types and sizes including three bespoke brick blends. Working in partnership with the main contractor Laing O’Rourke we arranged for these to be pre-mixed offsite to the clients exacting specification and delivered back without the need for any further mixing in both the precast slip format direct to Laings own pre-cast factory and for traditional laying direct to site.

The project has used a combination of modern offsite production methods and solutions for the majority of the brick facades, including large Pre-cast Brickwork panels, brick faced masonry support and Fastclad brick cladding, all working seamlessly with the traditionally handset areas by Lee Marley Brickwork.

The project required the production, supply and co-ordination of over 100 separate types of Brick slip specials all in a pre-castable form with a positive key. Over 200,000 units were produced and supplied including almost 80,000 in the three bespoke blends.