From concrete wasteland to waterfront community

Globe Road

Leeds, UK

Located in the South Bank area of Leeds, this complex urban regeneration project will establish a new neighbourhood on a valuable but currently redundant waterfront site.

Comprising eight residential buildings, including a 23-storey tower, this build-to-rent development will create 783 homes as well as new public realm opening up access to the canal and riverside. Additional amenities such as food outlets, co-working spaces, retail units and a gym will further attract people to the area, unlocking a beautiful site while supporting the ongoing expansion of the city centre.

Buro Happold was appointed to provide building services (MEP) engineering, building physics and acoustics consultancy across this 63,000m² complex. We worked closely with the client, Get Living, to fully understand their needs and ensure we designed to meet their requirements as one of the leading build-to-rent operators in the UK.

The Globe Road development will create a new community on former industrial land and unlock a valuable waterfront site in the centre of Leeds.

Buro Happold provided a range of services to inform the design of the eight residential buildings and surrounding public realm.

We worked closely with Get Living to develop a sitewide energy and building services strategies that are high quality, efficient and robust.

Our specialists undertook dynamic acoustic modelling and analysis to assess and minimise noise from the adjacent Manchester to Leeds railway line.

Challenge

Framed by Whitehall Road, Globe Road and the Manchester to Leeds railway line, this city-centre site is both constrained and awkwardly triangular in shape. This brought challenges in terms of building position, orientation, services provision, and mitigating unwanted noise from the busy rail route.

In addition, Get Living aspired to secure long-term residents and in turn establish a community within the development. To achieve this, we had to consider numerous aspects including quality of systems, product warrantees, future proofing and accessibility to create comfortable surroundings that encourage residents to stay. Running costs, energy efficiency and carbon emissions were also key drivers for the project.

Solution

As Get Living is an established market leader in the build-to-rent sector, we took the opportunity to engage them at the outset of the project to understand their offer and gain valuable insight from their experience.

This included spending time with Get Living’s maintenance teams to learn about their operations and apply our findings to inform the design for the Globe Road scheme. We used this information alongside the environmental targets for the development to produce sitewide energy and building services strategies that work hard to be efficient, high quality and robust.

Our specialists undertook dynamic acoustic modelling and analysis to assess the impact of the adjacent railway line. This gave us insight into the amount of noise generated within the building when the windows are open, which we then fed into our apartment overheating analysis.

Close coordination between our acoustics and building physics teams allowed us to understand the acoustic impact of open windows and balance this with comfort levels within the apartments. Our building physics team also advised on the orientation of buildings, and the development of the public realm in between, to maximise daylight and frame views of the city.

To meet Get Living’s aspiration to build a community at Globe Road, we worked alongside architect Sheppard Robson to integrate design features that foster interaction and a sense of unity.

Accordingly, there are social spaces within the buildings that are absent in most residential schemes, such as television rooms, communal lounges and dining areas, all conceived to bring people together and build a sense of belonging. These are augmented by the shops and restaurants on the ground floor that connect residents with the city beyond.

Value

This project is transforming a derelict former industrial site into a welcoming development providing high-quality homes for over 1,500 people, as well as premises for small businesses and a lively retail and restaurant destination in the centre of Leeds. In addition, it is unlocking a valuable waterfront site to create new connections across the city, linking the creative quarter in Holbeck with the commercial quarter around Wellington Street and Whitehall Road.

Built on sustainable principles, Globe Road is designed to promote energy efficient living, enhance mental health and wellbeing among residents and visitors, and support economic growth. As well as building a new community in the heart of Leeds, it’s prominent position on the Manchester to Leeds railway line ensures it will stand as an inspiring gateway to the city.