Lumiere (skyscraper)

Infobox Skyscraper


building_name=Lumiere
previous_building=
year_built=
surpassed_by_building=
year_highest=
year_end=
location=Wellington Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
status=On hold
roof= convert|172|m|ft|0
antenna_spire=
height_stories= 55
construction_period= 2007 - 2010
Under Construction=
floor_area=
architect= Ian Simpson
developer= KW Linfoot
contractor= Carillion
emporis_id=

Lumiere is a mixed-use skyscraper development that is currently on hold whilst under construction in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

Design and planning

The project represents the second phase to the redevelopment of a Royal Mail sorting office, which has already seen a m to ft|65|spell=UK tall former Royal Mail office reclad to become apartments called West Point.

The construction of Lumiere will consist of two towers of a height of 54 stories / m to ft|171|abbr=yes and 32 stories / m to ft|112|abbr=yes, both of which are to be clad in glass, with the taller tower to be predominantly blue and the smaller tower to be of a reddish hue. The developers behind the project are KW Linfoot and Scarborough Development Group and the designers are Ian Simpson and, for the structural design, WSP Group. The construction is being carried out by Carillion.

It will house a mixture of apartments, offices, shops, cafés, restaurants and a Winter Garden. There will be over convert|20000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on of retail space in the development. There will also be convert|10000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on of usable office space. There will be a variety of restaurants and eateries offering haute and high cuisine, due to be sited on the premises. There will also be around 650 apartments in the complex, facilities such as a concierge, communal areas and apartments designed by YOO designs are amongst the many features available for prospective residents. If completed according to the original proposals, the tower will become the tallest building in Leeds and Western Europe's tallest residential skyscraper. It would also exceed the height of Beetham Tower Manchester, to become the tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London if completed before the Piccadilly Tower in Manchester. On 21 July 2006 it was made official that the building of the Lumiere towers would begin in 2007 after councillors gave the proposals approval for construction.

Construction

Groundwork began with bore holes in Spring 2007. Throughout the late summer of 2007, work was undertaken on site to clear the existing debris in preparation for the development. In September 2007, work commenced to excavate and remove the existing foundations and basement of the Royal Mail building that previously occupied the site. Substructure work then began in the first months of 2008, with the piling works completed by June 2008.

Postponement

However, on July 9 2008, developers KW Linfoot announced the project had been put on hold due to the credit crunch, and construction would not resume until the economy stabilised. [cite news
title = City building project put on hold
publisher = BBC News
date = 2008-07-09
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7498572.stm
accessdate = 2008-07-09 ] [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=1625 "Leeds Lumiere Towers Put on Hold", "Skyscrapernews.com", 9 July 2008] ] Following the postponement of construction activities, it was announced that the developer has received approval from Leeds City Council to include an additional floor in each tower, the two towers now comprising 55 stories and 33 stories. [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=1650 "Leeds Approves Revised Lumiere Proposals", "Skyscrapernews.com", 24 July 2008] ] This has increased the planned height the towers by m to ft|1|abbr=yes in each case. [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Leeds-Lumiere-Revised-plan-for.4319680.jp "Leeds Lumiere: Revised plan for city's tallest building", "Yorkshire Evening Post", 24 July 2008] ]

See also

* List of tallest buildings in Leeds
* Architecture in Leeds

References

External links

* [http://www.lumiereaboveall.com/ Lumiere Official Website]
* [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=3178 Lumiere on Skyscraper News]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4950012.stm BBC News article on the proposed development]