Project Description
The winning competition entry for an extension to the Victoria Quarter Arcades in Leeds forms the centre of Victoria Gate.
The design is based on twin curving arcades two storeys high with a shifting roofscape, consisting of two linear elements broken up by ornately geometrical or high features at either end, where the two arcades are joined and form entrances.
Externally, the project appears as a single urban block, interrupted by the arcades entrance. It has a single façade inspired by the highly decorative and three-dimensional façades of some of the Leeds Victorian Quarters, consisting predominantly of pleated brick which changes in rhythm and scale to respond to the immediate context. A second material emerges within the façade at corners and entrances, terracotta to the south and stone to the north, to break up the overall volume. The project explores both these materials, as well as brick, to create patterns that work on a variety of scales, perceived differently from near and far.
