Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Carnegie School of Sport building on track with topping out
To mark the topping out, when the highest point of the building has been constructed, colleagues from the university’s Carnegie School of Sport were joined by sporting alumni from Leeds Rhinos, Yorkshire Carnegie, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Leeds United.
Pictured left to right are: Pete Mackreth (Carnegie School of Sport), Phil Daley (Leeds Rugby), Ben Fraser (Yorkshire Cricket Foundation), Chris Black (Leeds Rhinos), Abi Lee (Leeds United Foundation) and Dave Wilson (Yorkshire Carnegie).
Pete Mackreth, Dean of the Carnegie School of Sport, said: “We’re pleased to mark this key milestone in the construction of the Carnegie School of Sport building. When it’s completed, this outstanding facility will not only benefit our academics, students and elite athletes, but also the local community.
“As a civic university we play a key sporting role in the community, creating successful graduates who go on to shape the future of sport in the region. It was fitting that we welcomed back alumni from our sporting partners to celebrate the progress we have made.”
The new Carnegie School of Sport building will be home to a wealth of outstanding facilities that will include dedicated research laboratories, hyperbaric chambers, a health and wellbeing studio, a covered rooftop 60m sprint track for performance training and analysis and a rooftop walking track and terrace.
Galliford Try are the contractors on the building. Cliff Wheatley, Managing Director for Galliford Try North East and Yorkshire, commented: “It’s great to see the excellent progress being made on the Carnegie School of Sport. We are proud to be working on such a fantastic project and we look forward to continuing our excellent relationship with Leeds Beckett as we work towards completion.”
Once complete, the high-tech building will feature enhanced strength and conditioning spaces, networking spaces for students, staff and visitors, a café, informal teaching spaces and learning support spaces.
Sheppard Robson are the building’s architects. Alex Smith, Associate Partner at Sheppard Robson said: “The Carnegie School of Sport is a symbiotic relationship between designers and stakeholders. The design enhances the student and research experience via co-location, providing opportunities for the building to become a true landmark home that matches the University's reputation within the field.”
Simon Davies, Senior Architect at Sheppard Robson said: “One of the key challenges is how we can create a contemporary addition to a historic campus. The building composition relies on a signature move elevating the indoor running track with the solid base developed with robust architectural details which reflect the existing historic buildings through a narrative of vertical fenestration and contemporary material palette.”
Work began in July 2018 on the building, which is due to open in 2020.
The facility will provide a focus for the School’s undergraduate, postgraduate and research and enterprise programmes, while also becoming a hub for elite athletes, sports and industry partners.