Defence Online

A landscape architect has been appointed to a trio of high-profile riverside projects in Leeds city centre, with the aim of transforming the city’s underused waterfront.The series of schemes at City Reach, Whitehall Riverside and the former Yorkshire Post site, will harness the qualities of the River Aire and introduce more waterside public realm in the city.The 14-strong team, which is based at Tower Works in Holbeck Urban Village and recently opened a second office in Manchester, produced designs for new public spaces for the City Reach project, a planned residential scheme by Residential Securities located on the former Yorkshire Chemicals site adjacent to the river. The development, which received outline planning consent earlier this year, will feature almost 800 new homes, 234 student apartments and 20,000 sq ft of commercial space.Re-form Architecture’s designs include a new riverside ‘pocket park’ as well as a series of new streets and shared spaces including urban squares and semi-private courtyards, creating spaces where people can meet and socialise. The plans also incorporate the refurbishment of an existing pedestrian bridge, creating a link over the river to the nearby Otter Island development.Re-form is also developing a landscape strategy for the next phase of Town Centre Securities’ (TCS) Whitehall Riverside scheme. The development is already home to No 1 Whitehall Riverside and Whitehall Plaza, and the next phase includes 300,000 sq ft of grade A offices, cafes, bars, a hotel and a new multi-storey car park. Re-form helped TCS achieve outline planning permission for the masterplan in 2014, using its riverside location as a focus for the strategy. The team has now been appointed to take the development through the detailed planning application process, which is due to be submitted this month. Key elements include a stepped terrace overlooking the water which will be connected by a series of pedestrianised streets. The designs aim to enhance views of surrounding historical landmarks including the 165-year-old Lifting Tower at Wellington Place and the trio of Italianate towers at the neighbouring Towers Works development. Re-form has also been appointed by TCS to its Piccadilly Basin scheme in Manchester – a waterside development featuring office, residential, retail and leisure space on the banks of the Rochdale Canal.YP Real Estate LTD has appointed Re-form to create new public spaces at the site of the former Yorkshire Post building, which will form a major new gateway to the city.Re-form is leading on the landscape and public realm proposals for the project which comprises a mix of commercial, leisure and residential uses, breathing a new lease of life into a previously inaccessible stretch of riverfront. The new scheme will feature a series of open spaces including a major new urban square that will be constructed over basement car parking.