Sainsbury's, Greenwich

Previously the Greenwich Peninsula was an industrial area, before being marked for redevelopment in the 1990s. was a prestigious one at the time, The brief stipulated that the design should "reflect the environmental aspirations of the adjacent Millennium Village". Tesco had commissioned a design from Aukett Architects and Asda had commissioned a design from Grimshaw Architects; Morrisons had also submitted a design. The original Sainsbury's design, by Chetwoods Architects, was circular and designed so that it could be built anywhere on a north–south axis; it was initially thought by the firm to be too eccentric but was presented to the Sainsbury's board who unanimously chose it, believing it to be the most likely to succeed in competition with other supermarkets' designs. Sunday Business reported in May 1998 that Asda had initially been chosen, but that the deal had "foundered" and Sainsbury's was then selected. Sainsbury's bought the site for more than £30 million. Sainsbury's winning bid led to scrutiny from the Conservative Party in the House of Commons, led by Tim Yeo, the shadow minister responsible for planning. The scrutiny was due to Lord Sainsbury being a Labour Party donor and having a close relationship with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. ==Design==

The Greenwich store was designed to minimise its environmental impact and give a more pleasant shopping experience. Dino Adriano, Sainsbury's CEO, said the building marked "a watershed in supermarket architecture". The store was designed by Paul Hinkin of Chetwood Associates, The store was designed to be "a naturally lit and ventilated food hall surrounded and protected by earth banks". Energy-saving measures were predicted to save £60,000 per year; The building's sides were covered with earth to increase insulation, although this had to be altered in the final designs to allow for emergency exits. Criticism The building's environmental credentials did not go unchallenged, especially due to the design's perceived car-centricity. A report by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy said that the supermarket "cater[ed] to the car" and highlighted its location next to a 300-space free car park. An article in The Evening Standard noted that "for all the oil by-products saved by the panels in the nappy-changing rooms, rather more will come out of the thousands of exhaust pipes that will come and go everyday", and Friends of the Earth said the building was "repeating one of the worst mistakes of the 20th century in producing a car-generating high street-destroying superstore". Sainsbury's responded that people using cars to go shopping was the current reality, and that using other forms of transport was something that would have to be introduced gradually. Despite Hinkin's argument that the building was "ideally suited for a wide range of uses", a principal criticism of the store's design was that it was seen as inflexible, which impacted upon its sustainability. The listing report by English Heritage noted that the heating and cooling systems limited the way the shop floor could be used, and the building's architecture meant that extension or alteration was less feasible. Recognition and press coverage The building scored a perfect 31 out of 31 environmental rating, the highest score ever for a retail building, and was the first supermarket and first British building to receive an 'excellent' BREEAM rating. It was recognised as "the greenest supermarket building in the world" at the time, and described by architecture critic Robert Park as "the most energy-efficient supermarket building we have ever seen". The store's environmentally friendly features were often covered by the press, sometimes heavily relying on Sainsbury's own promotional materials. The reception from the architectural and national press was generally positive. Awards Sainsbury's Greenwich received a number of awards for its architecture and sustainable design. It was awarded 'millennium product' status by the Design Council on 14 December 1999. In 2000, it was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize and won a RIBA Regional Award and the RIBA Journal Sustainability Award. The store also won the Design Museum's Design Sense Award, the Retail Week Store Design of the Year 2000, and Channel 4's Building of the Year: People's Choice 2000. ==Opening and history==

Sainsbury's Greenwich was opened on 14 September 1999 The store became one of 20 Sainsbury's shops in South East London to take part in what the company described as "the UK's first urban composting trial" to dispose of food waste that could not be donated. In 2010, Jacob Zuma visited the store during his state visit to the UK. ==Closure and demolition==

Plans for closure In February 2012, Sainsbury's announced its plans to leave its Greenwich store, move to a larger site nearby, and lease the vacant building to a different, non-supermarket retailer. The company said it was "looking to build a new flagship environmental store" and that new environmental technologies could be used if it built a new store. Hinkin started a petition against the building's demolition, claiming that it represented "an act of vandalism". Hinkin asked for help from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), but said they had "sat on their hands"; RIBA president Stephen Hodder called the supermarket "a landmark of its time" and said he would be sad to see it demolished, but concluded that it was a decision for the local council to make. The petition gained support from over 1000 people, including architects George Ferguson and Angela Brady, The Twentieth Century Society (C20) submitted an application to English Heritage for Sainsbury's Greenwich to be grade II* listed. This would have made it both the first listed supermarket in the UK and the youngest building to ever be listed. In March 2014, Greenwich Council's planning board approved IKEA's proposal by five votes to two, while saying that the store's demolition was "unfortunate". On 18 August, English Heritage advised against listing the supermarket. Although it described the building's architecture as "graceful and humanised", its architectural interest was seen as limited due to the design's simple interior plan and lack of flexibility. The refusal of the listing application allowed plans for demolition to go ahead. Sainsbury's Greenwich was included on C20's Risk List for 2015, which also included Hyde Park Barracks, Robin Hood Gardens, Hove Town Hall, and St Peter's Seminary. Demolition The store's last day open was on 24 June 2015, closing for the final time at 6pm. The IKEA store built on the site opened in 2019 and was described by the company as "our most sustainable store". ==See also==