Fuse are incredibly proud to hand over their latest project for the innovative Vita Student brand – a 312 studio student accommodation building located in our home city of Leeds. Located at the junction of Portland Crescent & Woodhouse Lane, the scheme occupies a pivotal position between the city centre and Leeds university quarter.

Fuse were presented with a unique challenge when asked by Vita to consider proposals for the adaptation of a part-constructed and mothballed building – a former 14 storey 206 bed hotel scheme. Working in collaboration with Vita, Leeds City Council, Bowmer + Kirkland and the assembled design team, Fuse sought creative solutions to a number of key issues in order to gain an understanding of how the existing building could be adapted to Vita’s unique requirements.

The site faces two conservation areas – The Leeds city centre conservation area to the South, which encompasses key spaces and buildings such as Millennium Square and the Civic Hall, and the Queens Square conservation area to the North. In response, the scheme comprises two distinct elements – a 6 storey podium, forming a clear scale relationship with the adjacent listed O2 academy and a 16-storey tower, one of a series of tall buildings situated along Woodhouse Lane.

Fuse creatively adapted the former hotel layout and window arrangement to accommodate a variety of en-suite studios. This process resulted in several bespoke studios, not least the light-filled and spacious 1st floor bed-deck rooms.

The inviting ground floor Hub space, which provides active frontage to Portland Crescent, has been designed to engender a strong sense of community amongst the Vita residents and staff. The Hub takes advantage of the enhanced floor to ceiling height and extensive glazing to create a bright and welcoming environment. The primary hub space is complemented by a generous 5th floor communal roof terrace.

Due to the size of the building, including the height of the tower element, the design team tested the proposed scheme in a wind tunnel in order to assess the potential impact on the microclimate. Following a rigorous testing procedure, in order to enhance pedestrian comfort, decorative wind baffles have been integrated within newly landscaped areas.