Burslem Basilica

The British High Street is dead. Shopping malls and other sites will soon follow, and the decline of these spaces are simply being fast-tracked by the global pandemic and the exponential increase in online shopping. Shopping is no longer a physical leisure activity. This has left the heart of most cities desolate, unused and unsuitable for retrofitting into alternative urban solutions.

Everything is purchased via the swipe of a screen or click of a button, maximizing the ease of use and convenience. The current generation therefore lacks the knowledge and experiences of window shopping, flipping through catalogues and walking around with a shopping trolley as a public activity.

The Future High Streets Forum alongside the Shopping Centers Association has called for a revival of the shopping mall through an exclusive, temporary exhibition that will contribute towards the powerful experience economy. ‘Shoppers’ will be able to encounter an amalgamation of typical shopping experiences set in an intricate and theatrical display of recreated shops and stores. The project also aims to repurpose shopping objects and architectural components to construct the form and materiality.

Key spaces such as the Supermarket LARP arena as well as the Garden of Eat’n food court are central to the programme, reviving a sense of community in what is known as ‘Britain’s most depressing High Street’. Created by recycling shopping related objects such as trolleys, baskets and shutters into structural material, Burslem Basilica is a sustainably-forward architecture that will bring a new meaning to the high street typology.