Lisbon Street – Build To Rent

Designed as a single, cohesive community, the scheme delivers high-quality rental homes alongside extensive resident amenities, active ground-floor uses and landscaped public realm. Positioned along the Inner Ring Road, the towers play a key role in shaping Leeds’ emerging tall buildings cluster while helping to establish a new civic square and pedestrian-focused neighbourhood.

The towers occupy part of the former Leeds International Swimming Pool site, a prominent post-war development that was demolished in 2009 and subsequently used as surface car parking. Historically, the site marked a point where Leeds’ Georgian grid met later infrastructure-led development, resulting in a fragmented urban edge. We responded to this by reintroducing strong building lines, reinforcing historic routes and creating a new visual end-stop to Park Place.

The towers are carefully oriented and staggered to maximise daylight, mitigate wind effects and reduce overlooking. Budgetary efficiency was balanced with long-term quality through rational floorplates, compliant apartment sizes and a clear structural and façade strategy. 

Leeds continues to experience strong demand for rental accommodation that offers flexibility, community and high-quality shared amenities. The Lisbon Street BTR responds to this need by delivering a significant number of city-centre homes within a mixed-use environment that supports modern lifestyles. The project contributes to housing delivery targets, supports the West End’s growth, and helps create a sustainable, mixed community where living, working and leisure are closely integrated. 

The BTR scheme was developed through an extensive programme of pre-application engagement with Leeds City Council, statutory consultees and specialist advisors. A series of design workshops tested massing, orientation and podium arrangements in response to heritage, wind microclimate, daylight, tree retention and servicing constraints. Feedback from stakeholders directly informed the final alignment and staggering of the towers, ensuring a balanced response to skyline impact, residential quality and public realm comfort. 

Sustainability is embedded within both the building and the wider masterplan. The development benefits from extensive landscaped public realm, podium gardens and roof terraces that support biodiversity, improve microclimate and promote wellbeing. Excellent public transport links and enhanced pedestrian and cycle routes reduce reliance on private cars, supported by limited on-site parking. The apartments are designed to meet national space standards, with energy-efficient fabric and systems contributing to reduced operational carbon. 

Deliverability was a core consideration throughout the design process. Early fire engineering input allowed for efficient apartment layouts without excessive internal corridors, improving daylight and space quality. The structural grid and repetitive unit types support construction efficiency, while a clear podium-and-tower strategy simplifies sequencing. Servicing, access and refuse strategies have been carefully coordinated to ensure the buildings function effectively within the wider masterplan.

Advanced digital modelling tools were used to test massing, daylight, wind and townscape impacts at both masterplan and building scale. BIM coordination supported efficient integration of structure, services and fire strategy, while façade studies, informed by the historic site architecture, explored folded metal rainscreen systems to introduce texture and light play across the elevations. These tools helped balance architectural ambition with buildability and performance.