The materiality of the building draws on the history of terracotta
façades in Leeds, often produced by the local Burmantoffs
Terracotta works, providing a modern interpretation of a
traditional material. The façade order is also influenced by the
textile history of Leeds as well as John Lewis, and is designed as
a layered terracotta skin reminiscent of woven fabric. The diagrid
is the ordering element that repeats along the perimeter of the
building ; the resulting diamonds contain infill panels which
respond to the internal layout of the store and the immediate
context, providing transparency and ornamentation to the
building.
The Victoria Gate multi-storey car-park [MSCP] is visible from all
main urban approaches. From th e outset the intention was to
separate John Lewis from the car-park, but to acknowledge their
shared purpose and relationship to the façade.
Twisted aluminium fin cladding creates a diagrid pattern,
emphasised by the shadows generated, which relates to the John
Lewis façade. The façade efficiently provides vehicular restraint,
daylight and natural ventilation.
The Arcades building is designed as a two storey, twin arcade
with a complex glazed roofscape continuing the grand history
of Leeds’s 19th century arcades. A large casino sits above the
ThE arCaDES buiLDing iS DESignED aS a
TWo STorEy, TWin arCaDE WiTh a CoMpLEx
gLazED roofSCapE ConTinuing ThE
granD hiSTory of LEEDS’S 19Th CEnTury
arCaDES
arcade, partially over-sailing it and creating a four storey civic
frontage on Eastgate.
The exterior of the building evolves from the 19th and 20th
century language of the surrounding Blomfield and Victorian brick
and terracotta buildings, with sculpturally pleated brick elevations
– brick-faced pre-cast concrete panels- changing in rhythm and
scale responding to the context of the site.
The interiors of the arcades are inspired by the Victorian tradition
through the use of curved glass and patterned stone floors, based
on Leeds’s woolen herringbone cloth.
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