| Posted April 2011 |
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Broadcasting Place was recognized as “Best Tall Building Overall” in the 2010 CTBUH Awards Program.
Other Featured Tall Buildings |
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“The use of the cor-ten cladding responds to the natural materials of the groundscape while it’s bold and confident steel form also resonates with the industrial engineering traditions of the city.” – Peter Murray, CTBUH 2010 Awards Juror, New London Architecture Centre
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Location
Leeds, UK
Completion
2009
Height
70 m (228 ft)
Stories
23
Area
6,486 sq m / 69,815 sq ft
Primary Use
Residential/Education/Office
Owner/Developer
Downing; Leeds Metropolitan University
Architect
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Structural Engineer
Halcrow Yolles
MEP Engineer
KGA
Contractor
George Downing Construction
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Broadcasting Place is a mixed-use development close to the Leeds city center. Conceived as a public/private partnership for property group Downing and Leeds Metropolitan University, it provides new office and teaching spaces together with 240 student residences and a new Baptist Church on the northern edge of the scheme.
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Planning
A bold addition to the Leeds cityscape, Broadcasting Place forms a prominent marker at one of the major gateways to Leeds. The complex overcame difficult site challenges with a masterplan which manages an inner city motorway on one side while still enabling future growth. The site itself encompasses a rich history as the location of Old Broadcasting House, the old BBC TV Studios, and the location where the first moving picture was developed by Louis Le Prince in the late 19th century. This historical setting provides an ideal stage for an educational building dedicated to Leeds Met’s Faculty of Arts and Society. The masterplan worked within the framework of the “Renaissance Leeds” documents which define a “city rim” where physical and social connectivity were paramount in reintegrating the city center with its surroundings.
The building concept attempts a fusion between the geological, the sculptural and the cinematic to create a building that is firmly rooted in its context. The building creates two rising forms that snake around the perimeter of the site, responding to existing building heights and culminating in a tower “head.” This tower marks the south end of the site with a dramatic formed gable end which faces the city.
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The project team negotiated extensively with the Conservation Department of City Planning and English Heritage. After some initial opposition to the proposals, the departments ultimately wrote in support of the design.
A new public space, linking key existing urban spaces, forms a significant landscape element in the scheme. Broadcasting Place opens up pedestrian routes across the site that had been blocked by previous developments and re-connects Woodhouse Lane with Blenheim Walk.
Architecture
A key design element at Broadcasting Place is the irregular elevations which have been tailored to optimize daylight and reduce solar penetration. The proportions of the glazed façade were carefully examined and derived using special software. An innovative analysis of the building façades was undertaken, which calculated the optimum quantity and distribution of glazing/shading at all points on the façade in order to ensure high levels of natural daylighting without overheating.
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Figure 1. Building's sculptural form
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Conceptually, the buildings are seen as solid landscape forms which draw on Yorkshire’s rich geological and sculptural heritage. The traditional steep roof pitch is reflected in the massing of the buildings which have sharp triangular corners and angular cantilevered projections. The windows, placed within the massive, sculptural forms, were conceived as the flow of water cascading through a rock formation. This design intent is reinforced by the selection of cor-ten steel for the façade: a solid, sculptural and weathering material.
The tower sits high above the city center on a main ridge which houses a number of the city’s taller buildings. The stepping mass of the tower front places the largest elements on the skyline and the smaller elements closer to the ground and human scale. This inversion of traditional stepped massing gives the tower a unique character that provides a new identity for Leeds Met University and Downing. The sculptural south elevation is free of windows reflecting the benefits of an east–west orientation for accommodation, while at the same time reinforcing the clarity of the sculpted form in the city.
The ascending scale of the grouped projections to the south is also reflected in the grouping of windows on the east and west elevations. Smaller shifts at the lower floors give the building a more intimate scale on the street, while larger groupings higher up are designed to be seen from long distances and deal with the city scale.
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Figure 2. Facade models showing computational daylight analysis
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The environmental approach for the building combined several elements: the façade was designed to optimize cooling load and energy use through the rigorous research and development project involving 3D computer simulations of all façades, and the building’s form was designed to optimize natural daylight and allow for natural ventilation where practicable. The development was also designed on the premise of being a car-free environment conducive to pedestrian access and includes bike parking. During the detailed design process the buildings were developed to suit the Leeds Met University’s specific needs for the various faculties, while planning for future adaptability to ensure a long lifespan for the building.
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Figure 2. Context Plan
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Conclusion
Broadcasting Place succeeds on many levels, addressing city and urban design, respect for surrounding heritage buildings, and a richness of architectural design. Its references to geological and sculptural context make the building intimately local, contemporary and beautiful at the same time. It creates a unique and interesting form on the Leeds skyline. The building has an iconic presence, but manages to remain unobtrusive and respectful of its locale, successfully knitting together a disparate piece of historic townscape with a new residential tower.
The design addresses sustainable design at the highest level, with concerns for day lighting and optimization of cooling loads and energy use being the prime drivers of form and the placement of glazing. The choice of cor-ten steel cladding brings a warmth to the tower as it unifies the composition of the complex and places contemporary and historic architecture into dynamic conversation. |
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Figure 3. Broadcasting Place
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