Tetley's Brewery Wharf Leeds, 1993

With it's riverside setting Tetley's Brewery Wharf was conceived as a new type of visitor attraction for the City of Leeds. The principal theme of the centre was to tell the story of brewing and the "public house" from its origins in a monastic setting through the ages concluding with a glimpse into the future of 'The Galactic Bar'.

The centre also became home for the famous Tetley Shire Horses with associated livery facilities.

With a dramatic curved form the building was developed to provide a 'relationship' with the riverside whilst enclosing an external performance space, which had the potential to be tented over if required. A riverside park together with a Shire Horse exercise area were also provided as part of the scheme.

The centres restaurant and live bar, facing onto a riverside terrace, was themed on a Humber Keel; the traditional boat used to transport goods into the centre of the City along the Aire and Calder Navigation.

Environmentally the scheme utilised high pressure waste steam from the adjacent Brewery, with the slightly higher installation costs offset by a pay back period of less than 2 years. Structurally the building was devised as a column free interior, allowing for future flexibility. Load bearing external walls supported a post stressed first floor slab with a portalised steel structure giving maximum free internal volume. Externally the stressed PTFE canopies gave both protection and movement to the viewing balconies which overlooked the central performance space and riverside.

Simon was responsible for the design and delivery of this scheme whilst at careyjones architects. The project was procured on a traditional contract with several nominated sub-contractors. The scheme completed on time and within a strict budget and was testament to a dedicated and enthusiastic client and team.

The in-built flexibilty of the scheme has proven itself in it's subsequent conversion to restaurants and offices.