Xscape (building)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xscape buildings (named after the company that developed them) are large, strikingly designed and unusually shaped buildings. Typically they contain a real snow indoor ski slope, leisure facilities and related shops. There are currently three members of the chain, located in Central Milton Keynes and Castleford, which are both in England, and in Braehead (Glasgow), Scotland.
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[edit] Milton Keynes
The Milton Keynes Xscape opened in 2000, answering the city's demand for a large visible landmark from which the city centre can be found. From behind it resembles a snow covered hill, and can be seen from the small town of Olney, over eight miles away. The Xscape has 14 floors, making it the second tallest building in Milton Keynes after Mellish Court in Bletchley. Inside the Xscape can be found a real-snow ski slope, a 16 screen cinema, a number of shops and a climbing wall. An interesting point is the two large funnels on the front of the building - often mistaken for lifts and part of the cooling system are actually just stairs.
Located directly behind the Xscape building is a large square-shaped structure which houses an indoor skydiving centre named 'Airkix'. This too can be seen from as far away as Broughton.
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia or Google Local
- Street map from Multimap or GlobalGuide
- Aerial image from TerraServer
[edit] Castleford
The Castleford Xscape is built in a similar style to the Braehead one however it is of note that the many angular parts of the building, especially when seen from behind do form a shape similar to that of the Milton Keynes Xscape. The Castleford Xscape opened in October 2003 and has a 5,500 square metre roof.
The Castleford Xscape was a major development for what was before, an averaged sized town in West Yorkshire and is situated next to Junction 32, a popular outlet mall formerly known as Freeport. The two combined have really put Castleford, Glasshoughton in particular, on the map.
The Xscape at Castleford contains many shops, clubs, restaurants and entertainment facilities.
[edit] Braehead
The Braehead Xscape began construction in 2005 and was opened in March 2006. It is shaped differently - more like a conventional building but with the ski slope using a sloped cuboid structure projecting out the roof. As with Milton Keynes, this Xscape features a shopping area and a cinema.
In March 2006, weeks before the complex was scheduled to open, the roof of the cinema fell in and has required extensive re-building. This was the same week the roof of the Scottish Parliament fell in — both Xscape and the Parliament were built by the same company. As of January 2007, the cinema is still not open (but is now set to open sometime in July 2007). The mini-golf however (which is housed below the cinema) opened in July 2006, leading to speculation that the cinema will be ready to open soon. In October the Cinema was rumoured to open but the date came and the doors stayed closed.
