2003
globe road, leeds

Following an open expression of interest, Stephenson Bell were selected on a shortlist of five practices to develop proposals for a challenging site on the edge of Leeds City Centre. The site is bounded to the West by a busy access road into the centre of Leeds, to the North by the River Aire and Leeds to Manchester canal, and the southern boundary is defined by a viaduct carrying the main railway line into Leeds.

The brief asked for over 650 apartments providing a variety of expression and mix of size, and a small component of retail and commercial uses.

A proposal for a series of radially laid out, teardrop shaped blocks maximises solar access and minimises both overlooking and the number of dwellings facing the noise created by the railway. The blocks rise from six to thirteen storeys, from East to West, encouraging beneficial easterly solar access, whilst shading from westerly heat gains. The cascading of the blocks also optimises views over the skyline of central Leeds. A three storey parking structure runs along the viaduct line to provide a buffer between the buildings and the railway, and occupy a permanently shaded area of the site.

A 36 storey tower creates a focus at a junction of pedestrian routes across the site and on the axis with the route into Leeds. Commercial and retail uses in the base of the tower attract visitors to the retail uses on the canal and over.

The apartment blocks rise from a sheer base of live / work units to a textured, responsive façade of acid etched glass louvres and rainscreen cladding. A central spine wall of engineering bricks roots the buildings to the viaduct and the site. The nose and rear of the tower is clad in full height planar glazing. A secondary glazed skin over the centre of the tower provides all apartments with a sheltered sun space, up to the duplex and triplex penthouses at the peak.

The blocks and tower arrangement allow for phasing of the development, a key element in the brief for such a large scheme. A new foot bridge over the river and canal has been agreed with the local planning authority. Stephenson Bell’s proposal expanded the brief to include an office / leisure building on an area of land indicated only for landscaping, to encourage leisure activities in the area and create a destination to terminate existing pedestrian routes.