Bridgewater Place
Encyclopedia
Bridgewater Place, nicknamed The Dalek
, is an office and residential skyscraper development in Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It is the tallest building in Yorkshire
, and has held this record since being topped out in September 2005. It is visible at up to 25 miles (40.2 km) from certain areas.
being the contractor. The developer of the residential element of Bridgewater Place is KW Linfoot.
It was first announced in 2000 and, following several redesigns and delays with the construction process, construction of the building began in 2004 and was completed in 2007. It became the tallest building in Leeds, by a significant margin, and Yorkshire
(although this does not take into account structures such as Emley Moor). Bridgewater Place has a height of 112 metres (367.5 ft) to roof level. Originally the tower was to have a spire which would have extended the height of the building to 137 metres (449.5 ft), however this was never built.
Bridgewater Place has 32 storeys, of which two are used for car parking, ten for offices and twenty for residential purposes. There is 40,000 square metres / 430,560 square feet of floor space in the building with 200 flats and 400 underground car parking spaces serving both the residential and commercial areas of the building.
Current office tenants include Eversheds
, Ernst & Young
, ghd
, BDO Stoy Hayward and DWF LLP. Retail tenants include Tesco
, Starbucks
, Casa Mia, Panini Shack and Philpotts. The residential element of the development has proved to be one of the most prestige city centre addresses. Apartments in the development are currently letting through the letting agent owned by Jordan Yorath, brother of TV presenter Gabby Logan. His company Flatsinleeds are letting studio, one and two bedroom apartments from £450 per calendar month.
The atrium of Bridgewater Place hosts the 17.5 metre column sculpture called 'Hello Friends' by artists Bryan Davies and Laura Davies, which is tallest sculpture in Yorkshire. Created as a reinterpretation of Constantin Brâncuşi
's Endless Column from Târgu Jiu, Romania 50 years after the artist's death, it houses illuminated photographs showing a science fiction narrative.
The major part of the building's construction was completed by late December 2006. The completion of the entire building was commemorated on Thursday 26 April 2007. A special episode of Look North
, the BBC's local regional news programme was produced to commemorate the opening of the tower. The tower is illuminated at night with bright coloured lighting effects, colours used so far include blue and purple.
The building's shape appears to be accelerating winds in its immediate vicinity to the extent that pedestrians have experienced severe difficulties walking past. These winds have led to some of the entrances to the building being closed for safety reasons. To rectify these issues in the design may require the addition of 'vertical fins' to the facade
of the building.
, which is awarded to 'buildings so ugly they freeze the heart'. The building has often been criticised for creating a dangerous wind tunnel and as of 10 March 2011 is involved in the investigation of a death caused by a falling lorry.
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
, is an office and residential skyscraper development in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is the tallest building in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and has held this record since being topped out in September 2005. It is visible at up to 25 miles (40.2 km) from certain areas.
The building
The development has been designed by Aedas Architects with the developer being Landmark Development Projects and St James Securities with Bovis Lend LeaseBovis Lend Lease
Lend Lease Project Management & Construction is the international project management and construction division of Lend Lease Group.-History:...
being the contractor. The developer of the residential element of Bridgewater Place is KW Linfoot.
It was first announced in 2000 and, following several redesigns and delays with the construction process, construction of the building began in 2004 and was completed in 2007. It became the tallest building in Leeds, by a significant margin, and Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
(although this does not take into account structures such as Emley Moor). Bridgewater Place has a height of 112 metres (367.5 ft) to roof level. Originally the tower was to have a spire which would have extended the height of the building to 137 metres (449.5 ft), however this was never built.
Bridgewater Place has 32 storeys, of which two are used for car parking, ten for offices and twenty for residential purposes. There is 40,000 square metres / 430,560 square feet of floor space in the building with 200 flats and 400 underground car parking spaces serving both the residential and commercial areas of the building.
Current office tenants include Eversheds
Eversheds
Eversheds LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the 50 largest law firms in the world measured by revenues. In 2009/10 it achieved total revenues of £355.2 million, making it the ninth-largest UK-based law firm by this measurement, and profits per...
, Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
, ghd
Good Hair Day
Good Hair Day, commonly referred to as ghd, is a manufacturer of hair care products. It is based in Leeds, UK.- History :The company was founded in January 2001 by Martin Penny, Gary Douglas and Robert Powls, who collaborated to purchase the rights to produce a particular style of hair...
, BDO Stoy Hayward and DWF LLP. Retail tenants include Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, Casa Mia, Panini Shack and Philpotts. The residential element of the development has proved to be one of the most prestige city centre addresses. Apartments in the development are currently letting through the letting agent owned by Jordan Yorath, brother of TV presenter Gabby Logan. His company Flatsinleeds are letting studio, one and two bedroom apartments from £450 per calendar month.
The atrium of Bridgewater Place hosts the 17.5 metre column sculpture called 'Hello Friends' by artists Bryan Davies and Laura Davies, which is tallest sculpture in Yorkshire. Created as a reinterpretation of Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
's Endless Column from Târgu Jiu, Romania 50 years after the artist's death, it houses illuminated photographs showing a science fiction narrative.
The major part of the building's construction was completed by late December 2006. The completion of the entire building was commemorated on Thursday 26 April 2007. A special episode of Look North
BBC Look North (Yorkshire and North Midlands)
BBC Look North is the BBC's regional television news service for West & South Yorkshire, parts of North Yorkshire and the North Midlands. The programmes as produced and broadcast from the BBC Broadcasting Centre at St...
, the BBC's local regional news programme was produced to commemorate the opening of the tower. The tower is illuminated at night with bright coloured lighting effects, colours used so far include blue and purple.
The building's shape appears to be accelerating winds in its immediate vicinity to the extent that pedestrians have experienced severe difficulties walking past. These winds have led to some of the entrances to the building being closed for safety reasons. To rectify these issues in the design may require the addition of 'vertical fins' to the facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of the building.
Criticism
In 2008, Building Design, the architectural journal, shortlisted Bridgewater Place for its annual Carbuncle CupCarbuncle Cup
The Carbuncle Cup is an architecture prize, given annually by the magazine Building Design to "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months". The award was based on an idea created by the Scottish architecture magazine Prospect, which has run the Carbuncle Awards since...
, which is awarded to 'buildings so ugly they freeze the heart'. The building has often been criticised for creating a dangerous wind tunnel and as of 10 March 2011 is involved in the investigation of a death caused by a falling lorry.
External links
- Official Website
- Aedas Official Website
- Skyscraper News article on Bridgewater Place
- Bridgewater Place page on Leeds Cityscape
- Website of artists making atrium sculpture
- BBC Article on the completion of Bridgewater Place
- BBC News broadcast covering the sculpture
- http://www.carrerapropertyconsultancy.com/floor-plans/bridgewater-floorplans.pdf PDF floor plans of some of the residential parts of the building