Chepstow Central Market

Stuck inbetween pedestrianisation and a thoroughfare, the Chepstow High Street has been slowly declining for years. The missing concept was always "commitment". The town had to show it was committed to its people. Whatever it was, there had to be a concrete step towards a direction. That is how the Chepstow Central Market was born. Going through with pedestrianisation, the High Street now needed to attract those pedestrians. What's better than a marketplace for that?

A marketplace made for people, together with other anchor amenities ensuring the High Street is always bustling. But how can that be built? There is an old and unused concrete block on the High Street. That can be revitalised. In fact, the 1960s block can be made to join the center rather than divide it. It can even become the center itself. A good place also needs some core principles. For the Central Market, it is by the people for the people. The real placemakers are actually the ordinary people using the place, not the architects.

What the architects need to provide is a place for the people to want to occupy and make home. So, all of the spaces are people oriented. The market hall is modelled after an observation of a street market in Antalya, Turkey. Above that, the cafe and workshop are both adjusted for climate comfort. The cafe is a nice place to relax in an afternoon, and the workshop is a great opportunity for the townsfolk to produce arts and crafts together. On the roof, the sky gardens create a rare place of calm and quiet in between greenery on the High Street. The scenery is also beautiful. A platform extends to capture the historic Chepstow Castle, the people on the High Street and Beaufort Square, and the majestic cliffs carved by the Wye River.

All of these elements join to create a complete experience on the High Street. The new timber and steel planes extend to create a different experience on the old building. And on the old town now has a new experience in the center as well.