How an ugly railway siding was transformed

The city centre of Leeds has had its fair share of largescale residential developments over the past few years; some of them successful, some of them not. The regeneration of key locations has been a double-edged sword for Leeds; the enormous size of the Brownfield sites paved the way for rapid development, but the sheer scale left many people feeling uneasy about the imposing nature of such schemes. One inner-city site that seems to have bucked the trend is Granary Wharf. Located next to Leeds Railway Station, the site is surrounded by some aestheticallychallenged buildings and on first sight didn't offer too much potential. Access was difficult, pedestrians could only get to the site through Dark Arches, a grim Victorian tunnel underneath the station and the potential views from apartments didn't look promising, but Granary Wharf's saving grace was two-fold. Firstly, the site was surrounded by water, with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire wrapping around the east and south side of the development. Secondly, the developer, ISIS Waterside, ploughed plenty of money into the site and gave special consideration to how the buildings were going to sit on the site. Instead of using one architect to oversee the scheme, ISIS employed two. Their individual visions have prevented the site from looking uniform and have given each block its own unique character. The first block, Waterman's Place, was designed by CZWG. It's a tall, slim building with a Ziggurat design and some lovely materials, from cedarcladding to copper-plated balconies. The block sits well on the river and cascades beautifully down the canal's edge. The second building, Candle House, was designed  by Carey Jones and looks completely different, despite a similar use of building materials. This tall circular tower is more of a landmark block and has the potential to be one of the most famous buildings in Leeds. Paris has the Eiffel Tower, London has the Wheel - and if you judge a building by how it looks on a cartoon drawing of a city, then Candle House is a success. But Granary Wharf's most successful accomplishment is how it interacts with the city. A new landmark pedestrian bridge has been added and Dark Arches has been sandblasted, refurbished and given a new lease of life, with new bars, shops and cafes. This once dark and unfriendly site has been transformed, given Leeds its first truly upmarket city centre site.

Fact File

Name: Waterman’s Place & Candle House, Granary Wharf
Address: 3 Wharf Approach, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS11 5GQ
Completion Date: March 2010
Apartments: 282
Architects: CZWG, Carey Jones.
Contractor: Ardmore Constructions
Client: ISIS Waterside Regeneration
Local Authority: Leeds City Council