Leeds Arts University

A new gallery and 230-seat auditorium designed to serve as a performance space for the University’s Popular Music course are situated are at the heart of the new public facing University. A new reception and café, both open to the public provide a warm welcome to visitors into the campus.

Leeds Arts University’s existing facilities were split across two sites, one at Vernon Street the other on Blenheim Walk. The new build site, formerly a school and car park, revealed extensive filled ground, voids, and a buried two-storey basement with a pool, along with live services. Enabling works removed all existing structures, asbestos, and contamination, then refilled the site with processed material, avoiding ~1,850 lorry trips. Of the 8,035m³ excavated, 99.9% was reused or recycled.

The 6,500m² new build connects to the existing building at all floor levels via a shared stair core. A new main entrance sits at their intersection, with a former lecture theatre repurposed into a public gallery.

Beyond the public areas, a variety of specialised and versatile teaching spaces are accommodated. Film and photography studios are equipped to support high-level creative work. Acoustically separated music practice rooms and production studios cater specifically to the University’s fashion and music courses. Multi-purpose classrooms offer flexible spaces for general teaching purposes. Additionally, the new building includes an employment services hub dedicated to supporting student career development. The reference library, featuring bookable research and study rooms and a postgraduate study suite, enhances academic resources for students and staff.

We worked closely with a specialist fit-out sub-contractor and consultant acoustician on the design of particularly sensitive spaces such as the performance, film and recording studios. These acoustically isolated rooms within rooms are heavily serviced, and require careful coordination and detailing to ensure that service runs do not compromise acoustic separation, and ventilation within the rooms does not become audible on recordings.

The new 6500m² building is strategically positioned adjacent to the gable end of the existing structure, following the street line seamlessly after the demolition of existing balconies and a large canopy. The design facilitates connectivity between the new and old structures at every floor level through an existing stair core, replacing a strip of curtain walling to create these linkages.

The design approach for Leeds Arts University’s new building exemplifies thoughtful integration, collaborative design, and a commitment to creating a functional yet inspiring educational environment. By merging the new with the old and carefully planning each phase of construction, the project not only meets the practical needs of the university but also enhances its architectural legacy.

Our approach focused on ongoing engagement with university stakeholders, challenging assumptions and shaping the design collaboratively. We worked closely with the Vice Chancellor and senior team through workshops to explore ideas for teaching and communal spaces—reviewing existing facilities, studying precedents, and refining a modern visual identity rooted in the university’s heritage.

These workshops informed wider consultations with academics, students, and external bodies like the Local Authority and Civic Trust. A focus on performance and collaboration emerged, shaping a layout centred around three double-height volumes that support exhibitions, performances, and flexible student use.

The collaborative ethos extended to design detailing and procurement, with input from artists and designers across disciplines helping to shape key architectural features.

Windowless spaces like photography studios were positioned along residential elevations, while double-height volumes were introduced to bring daylight deep into the plan and support a hybrid ventilation strategy. Roof-mounted Monodraught cowls enable passive airflow, aided by exposed thermal mass for night-time cooling. VRF units are used only where needed, and the high-performance envelope achieves 2.2m³/hr/m² at 50Pa.

The structure balances thermal mass and embodied carbon. While a full concrete frame was unsuitable due to long spans, a hybrid steel frame with precast concrete planks (slim-floor design) provided the needed thermal mass, structural efficiency, and flat soffits—enhancing headroom, service coordination, and acoustic performance without full ceilings.

Though the design initially targeted BREEAM Excellent, value engineering led to a final rating of Very Good, reflecting the client’s priorities without compromising key sustainability goals.

Given that the new building is one storey taller than the existing one, modifications were necessary to ensure seamless access. A section of pre-cast stair was removed, and a new section was constructed within the existing stair core, particularly at the fourth-floor level. This complex task was executed above a crash deck, ensuring the segregation of construction activities from the operational campus below. The phased construction approach minimised disruptions to university operations.

A number of custom made items were developed with the client, including several which incorporated graphics design by students into the building fabric, such as the 3 storey anodised feature panel on the front elevation. DLA worked hand in hand with fabricators to deliver key items such as this, whilst also engaged with suppliers to secure custom made items within standard systems.