Points Cross, Leeds

4 Nov

Value - £160m | Client - Guinness Developments

A £160 million mixed-use scheme in the heart of Leeds, featuring five high-spec towers, including 35% affordable housing.

We were appointed by Guinness Developments, one of the largest social housing providers in the UK, to provide civil and structural engineering and geoenvironmental advice for the delivery of the Points Cross scheme in Leeds.

The site is located within the South Bank regeneration area of Leeds city centre nearby to the Royal Armouries Museum, covering a total area of approximately 2.4 hectares.

The scheme will provide 928 homes, a minimum 35% of which will be affordable housing. The project will also include commercial and retail units at ground floor and basement car parking across the southern part of the site.

The proposed masterplan scheme consists of five blocks ranging from six to 20 storeys. These are to be built in three phases with phase one currently on-site which consists of Block A & B, value £52m. The superstructure to Block A is part five and part 12-storey with Block B being part six, part eight and part 10-storey structures. Both blocks are formed using reinforced columns with 225mm flat slab floor plates. Stability to the structure is provided by concrete cores within each of the blocks.

Due to the intricate nature of the external façade details and internal layouts to suit the specific end user requirements, a series of significant transfer structures and walking columns are required throughout both blocks which include a 12m transfer beam to facilitate an underpass for vehicle access to and from the buildings and to achieve cantilevered architectural façade details.

Points Cross is part of the wider South Bank regeneration scheme, led by Leeds City Council, which will provide over 8,000 new homes once complete. The project will provide 35,000 new jobs, offer skills training and apprenticeships to local students.

Image credit: DK-Architects & Collective