In 2006, FCB Studios were appointed to work alongside Carey Jones Architects and Martha Schwartz Partners on the redesign of an approved outline design for the Wellington Place development, Leeds. Changing market conditions and new proposals for the surrounding west end of the city centre had led developer MEPC to reconsider its approach to the site. Working closely with the city architect, the team established the key principles of the previous proposal relating to scale, routes, spaces and massing as a basis for a new design for the former railway station site.
The site enjoys a prominent position with major frontage onto the major commercial route ofWellington Street to the north, and a strong relationship with the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to the south.
The prime objectives of the new scheme were to better integrate the proposals into the existing city fabric and to significantly improve connections to a range of proposed new developments. The new scheme sought to reconcile two differently-oriented city grids around a new axial route linking Wellington Street to the River Aire. This new pedestrian street, named Canal Street, not only provides a key connection, it also links the major new spaces proposed on the site. These two spaces will combine to significantly improve the city centre’s urban realm.
Public space as a focus for development
Design studies for the overall proposal have focused on an architectural language of masonry and glass to provide a cohesive feel for Wellington Place. The intention to create a more unified backdrop of buildings will bring the street sequences and public spaces to the fore as a focus of the development. Tower Square is envisaged as a major new civic space for the city, a focus for a series of new commercial buildings. The square is a relic of the former railway station, with a listed lifting tower forming the centrepiece of the space. The second proposed space has been nicknamed 'The Beach', and will be the most significant space in the city to directly address the river. The Beach will complement the harder urban feel of Tower Square by providing a softer and more informal place, formed as a series of landscaped steps to the water’s edge. A large stone viaduct, also a relic of the former station, closes one side of the space, a residential building and possible cultural centre encloses other sides. A significant new tree-lined boulevard will mark the large south- facing frontage along Whitehall Road, a major route into the city centre from the west. From the outset it was the intention of MEPC to create a new commercial destination for the city with a strong identity; this was part of the strategy for creating a commercially successful urban quarter. As a long-term occupier the developer has a vested interest in creating a place that will remain both socially and commercially viable for the longer term. This strategy not only related to Wellington Place itself, but also to the wider West End of the city. A partnership between developers has been formed to create new public space, improve pedestrian connectivity and adopt a coherent urban realm design code to embed a sense of place into this part of the city. The new Tower Square will be the commercial focus of the district, adding value to the West End by catering for daily social needs on the site as well as significant city-wide events.
KEY POINTS
• Linking two key urban spaces will improve the city centre’s urban realm
• A new green space, unusual in contemporary city centre schemes, will become a destination in the city
• An urban realm design code will provide a strong identity for public space
PRACTICE DETAILS
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
www.fcbstudios.com
