Located at the heart of Nottingham’s evolving city centre, our feasibility study for Lister Gate explores the adaptive reuse and transformation of two prominent buildings overlooking the new Green Heart of Broadmarsh. The proposal reimagines the former M&S and Woolworths buildings as a design-led co-living development, responding to growing demand from students, graduates and young professionals seeking flexible, community-oriented urban living. The scheme brings together 287 co-living apartments with a generous provision of shared amenity, including internal social spaces and a series of landscaped roof terraces with views across the city and the new public park.
A key driver of the study was the careful integration of new architecture with existing fabric. The retained structures, ranging from post-war modernist retail to a distinctive Art Deco listed frontage, are preserved and celebrated, with sensitive vertical extensions introduced to create a cohesive and contemporary architectural identity along Lister Gate.
At ground level, active frontages are proposed to animate the street and engage directly with the emerging public realm, supporting a mix of retail, café and co-working uses. Above, a network of roof gardens and terraces provides residents with a varied sequence of outdoor spaces, from outward-looking civic edges to more intimate, sheltered environments.
The scheme is intrinsically linked to the wider Broadmarsh regeneration, which replaces the former shopping centre with a new landscape-led urban quarter. Positioned directly adjacent to this ‘Green Heart’, the development is conceived as part of a renewed city centre—one defined by walkability, biodiversity and a stronger connection between people, place and everyday life.
Sector: Living | Retail | Mixed-use
Status: Feasibility Study
Date: 2025
Early Stage Sketch Plans