New look for Neville Street
>>> Posted 31/3/06
A team of leading architects and designers has been commissioned to transform the Neville Street approach to the city centre and the adjoining Dark Arches linking Holbeck Urban Village to the centre of Leeds.
Neville Street is one of the key pedestrian and vehicle gateways into and out of Leeds. It is the main entrance to the city centre from the M62 and the M1. Dark Neville Street is the road that runs down to the Granary Wharf shopping area and into Holbeck Urban Village, more popularly known as the Dark Arches.
These two areas form a crucial first impression when entering the city and are key to the development of Holbeck Urban Village. It is the main route through which employees, residents and visitors to the urban village will enter and leave the city centre. At present, the area is unattractive and uninviting and is percieved to be unsafe. There has also been criticism from the business community, which feels the area projects a poor image of the city to potential investors.
A team of specialists headed up by Bauman Lyons Architects has been commissioned to provide a detailed design for improving the area. Proposals are now being worked up and will be available for public consultation at the beginning of April 2006. The Bauman Lyons team includes Hans Peter Kuhn, a world renowned German artist. His work includes a light focused art installation on the lower west side of Manhattan's Pier 32 and a light and sound art installation in Adelaide, Australia.
The proposals for Neville Street include insulation to dispel some of the noise from the trains running overhead and for artistic lighting to be installed to improve the overall appearance of the area along the west wall. The east wall will be designed by Andy Edwards Designs and includes arrows pointing the direction to the urban village and to the city centre, that will be lit from behind. Improvements to the environment, pedestrian routes and access are also proposed.
