The Headline is a new BTR residential development in Leeds, located on the former site of the Yorkshire Post offices and printing works and developed by Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord. The 18-storey building, by architects The Harris Partnership, boasts extensive frontage looking directly out over the River Aire. 74’s designs within the 242-home scheme included a 595 sq m ground floor residents’ amenity space - where social areas are combined with a reception area, co-working lounges, a fitness-on-demand wellness studio and a gym - and a 155 sq m ‘Sky Lounge’ on the building’s 11th floor, with private dining room and an external wraparound terrace.
Brief
To create a stand-out interior, distinct from that of the surrounding buildings, with high-quality cues that would enable residents to relax immediately on entering the building and feel at home. To bring the outside in via greenery and natural materials to prioritise resident wellbeing as well as incorporating influences from the site’s newspaper heritage, including bespoke artworks by artist Michael Murray.
Concept
74 created a soft, elegant and sophisticated series of spaces where residents could work, rest and play. The materials palette includes light, soft tones – neutrals with feature soft blues and greens for the ground floor and the addition of a strong orange/rust colour in the Sky Lounge – plus refined and minimal contemporary detailing, strong statement furniture and dramatic feature lighting. The site’s newspaper heritage influence can be seen in the choices of set dressing – from typewriters and a series of eight wall clocks showing the time in major cities throughout the world – through to the influence of printing production rails, whose echo can be seen in the dramatic, curved framework rails 74 designed around the ground floor booth and sofa seating areas.
“We are really pleased with the finished amenity spaces at The Headline. 74 have done an excellent job in answering to our brief, bringing creativity and great attention to detail and in doing so, creating spaces that we feel confident our residents will love.”