Broadcasting Place is a mixed use development close to Leeds city centre. Conceived as a public/private partnership for property group Downing and Leeds Metropolitan University, it provides approximately 110,000 square feet of new offices and teaching spaces together with 240 student residences in a landmark building rising to 23 storeys. A new Baptist Church completes the scheme on its northern edge.

The buildings are conceived as solid landscape forms which draw on Yorkshire’s rich geological and sculptural heritage. The lower buildings rise as a continuous rake from 3 storeys, adjacent to low rise listed buildings, up to 5 storeys. The taller buildings drop from 8 storeys down to 6 before rising to the scheme’s highest point of 23 storeys. The strong roof pitch is reflected in the massing of the buildings which have sharp triangular corners and angular cantilevered projections. Through this massive form, windows were conceived as the flow of water cascading through a rock formation. This design intent is reinforced by the selection of cor-ten steel as a solid, sculptural and weathering material, constructed as a rain-screen façade.

Client: Downing

Completion: September 2009

“Bold and beautiful, the building has made a big and positive impact on this area of central Leeds. What isn’t so immediately obvious is the innovation and research that went into its environmental strategy and the benefits this will bring over the coming years.”
Paul Houghton, Director of Development, Downing
For Broadcasting Place