Bridgewater Place
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| Bridgewater Place | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Location |  Leeds, England |
| Coordinates | 53°47′31″N 1°32′52″W / 53.7920°N 1.5479°WCoordinates: 53°47′31″N 1°32′52″W / 53.7920°N 1.5479°W |
| Status | Complete |
| Estimated completion | 2006 |
| Opening | 2007 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 110 metres (361 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 32 |
| Floor area | 40,000 square metres (430,560 sq ft) |
| Companies | |
| Architect | Aedas |
| Contractor | Bovis Lend Lease |
| Developer | KW Linfoot |
Bridgewater Place, nicknamed The Dalek,[1][2] is an office and residential skyscraper development in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the tallest building in Leeds and 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 km) from certain areas.
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[edit] The building
The development has been designed by Aedas Architects with the developer being Landmark Development Projects and St James Securities with Bovis Lend Lease being the contractor.[1] 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 110 metres (360 ft) to roof level. Originally the tower was to have had a spire which would have extended the height of the building to 137 metres (450 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[when?] office tenants include Eversheds, Ernst & Young, ghd, BDO Stoy Hayward, Operon and DWF LLP. Retail tenants include Tesco, Starbucks, Casa Mia, Füdi, Panini Shack and Philpotts.
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[citation needed]. Created as a reinterpretation of Constantin Brancusi's Endless Column from Târgu Jiu[citation needed], 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.[citation needed] 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[when?] 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.[3] To rectify these issues in the design may require the addition of 'vertical fins' to the facade of the building.[4]
[edit] Criticism
In 2008, Building Design, the architectural journal, shortlisted Bridgewater Place for the Carbuncle Cup, which is awarded to 'buildings so ugly they freeze the heart'.[5][6]
[edit] Gallery
 Bridgewater Place at night in October 2007 |
 Side view of the Bridgewater Place development under construction |
 View of the tower element of the development |
 Under construction in October 2006 |
 Nearing completion |
.svg) Height of Bridgewater Place compared to the height of other existing and approved tall buildings in Leeds |
_cropped.jpg){kind=small} A view of Central Leeds from Belle Isle Road, showing Bridgewater Place on the left |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Building - 734 - Bridgewater Place - Leeds". SKYSCRAPERNEWS.COM. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=734. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Why we should all love Leeds's Dalek". yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/rod-mcphee?ArticleID=2704214. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "The answer is blowing in the wind". Yorkshire Post. 2008-07-10. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/businessnews/The-answer-is-blowing-in.4274166.jp.
- ^ "Fins may solve Aedas towers wind grief". Architects Journal. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/dailynews/2008/07/fins_may_solve_aedas_towers_wind_grief.html. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ "A Bridgewater too far?". BBC Leeds. http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2008/10/07/places_carbuncle_cup_feature.shtml. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ "Who will get the wooden spoon in BD’s Carbuncle Cup this year?". BD: The architects' website. 3 October 2008. http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3123978. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
[edit] 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
- [1] PDF floor plans of some of the residential parts of the building
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