West Bar scheme

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name = West Bar


built = unbuilt
status = proposed/masterplan
use = Residential/office
est-completion = 2010
caption =
coordinates = coord|53.386745|1.468499|display=inline,title
plural = yes
location = Exchange Riverside, Sheffield, Yorkshire
cost = £ 400m
floor_area = 1.8 million ft²
previous_building = dilapidated factories
location = Sheffield, England
roof = m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|89.50,
m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|83.50 and
m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|62.50 (three towers)
floor_count = 27, 27 and 15
developer = Castlemore Securities
architect = several partners, including Glenn Howells Architects,
Jestico + Whiles,
Allies and Morrison Architects
Aedas|

The West Bar scheme is a £400m major scheme in Sheffield, Yorkshire on the edge of the City centre. It is designed by Castlemore Securities

The scheme will include:

* 900,000 ft² (83,600 m²) of new grade A office space
* 115,000 ft² (10,700 m²) of new retail and leisure space, including a new foodstore, bars, restaurants and shops, 240 bed 4 or 5 star hotel, 750 new apartments of which an element will be affordable and 500 student accommodation units.

Adjacent to a new section of the northern relief road currently being built, the site is triangular in shape and bounded by West Bar, Corporation Street and Bridge Street on the northern edge of the city centre, the site is 7.51 acres (3.04 hectares) in size and currently comprises a number of vacant and derelict employment sites and surface level car parking. The idea is that each corner of the triangle will have a landmark tower, with a 27 storey, m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|89.50 oval glass tower (block 10) on the south western corner (West bar and Corporation Street), a 27 storey m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|83.5 triangular glass and steel-framed tower (block 9) on the south-eastern corner (West Bar and Bridge Street), and a 14 storey m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|62.5 triangular block (block 1) on the northern corner (Corporation Street and Bridge Street).

Castlemore has subsequently worked with a number of architectural practices, including Glenn Howells Architects who have designed Timber Wharf in Manchester and the new public square fronting Lime Street Station, Liverpool, to provide detailed proposals for three of these blocks. Aedas are providing proposals for blocks 2 and 4 and 5 and 11.

Appointments for the remaining sites will be made in due course, possibly through future competitions.

Within the proposals, significant emphasis has been placed on the quality of design and the materials to be used.

The development, compared to a Citadel and inspired by the Walled City in Kowloon will incorporate a variety of public realm improvements which have been drafted by Landscape Projects, including a new square, which will be m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|70 by m to ft|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|22, and be lined up north-south so the midday sun can penetrate it, and will also include street art, seating, quality lighting and signage.

External links

* [http://www.westbar.info Westbar masterplan website]
* [http://www.castlemore.co.uk/home.php?page_id=6&d_action=list&type=mixed&status=planned Castlemore developments]
* [http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/EasySite/lib/serveDocument.asp?doc=48445&pgid=65662 Masterplan from the council website] (.pdf)