Reimagining retail at Trinity Leeds

The transformation of Trinity Kitchen at Trinity Leeds highlights how retail destinations can evolve through thoughtful, considered interventions in response to changing patterns of retail and leisure use.

The scheme focuses on reconfiguring the existing building fabric, rather than expanding its footprint. The proposals add a total of 40,000 sqft to Trinity Kitchen, including a new roof terrace overlooking the city. By carefully carving out this external space, a new destination is created, extending the experience beyond the internal food hall.

This approach reflects a broader shift in retail thinking, moving away from purely transactional environments towards experience-led, social destinations. The roof terrace introduces a new layer of activity, supporting greater flexibility of use, encouraging engagement beyond traditional retail hours, and contributing to a stronger sense of place within the building and its surroundings.

Rather than complete redevelopment, the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse and architectural intervention can unlock underutilised space, strengthen connections to the surrounding city, and extend the long-term relevance of existing assets, creating environments that people want to spend time in.

This scheme is a strong example of how thoughtful design can shape retail environments, placing experience, place, and people at the centre of architectural thinking.

Chapman Taylor’s work on Trinity Leeds is part of the practice’s long-standing and continued involvement with the scheme. This enduring relationship reflects Chapman Taylor’s deep expertise in retail asset enhancement and adaptive reuse, and its ability to support clients across the full life cycle of major retail assets. With a global track record in transforming existing environments into vibrant, future-ready destinations, the practice combines thoughtful architectural intervention with commercial insight to unlock the latent potential of under-utilised space. This adaptive approach ensures retail schemes remain relevant, resilient and responsive to changing consumer behaviours, while continuing to add long-term value to both the asset and the wider urban context.