In the 90s I’d drive back to Leeds from Chester. The best but was the M621 and I’d see the Leeds skyline which consisted of town hall, civic hall and the white tower of Leeds Uni located near Hyde park. I’d get a great feeling and think yes I’m home. I dont feel that way anymore.
Really enjoyed this video. I work in Leeds and agree that some are hit and miss. There are some new and very well planned developments. But a lot of very dated ones. Keep the content coming!
I think the problem is the councillors, I once sat in a planning meeting for the proposed CEG skyscraper. Honestly, the conversation was cringe and if I was an investor I would avoid Leeds altogether based on the councilors alone. I think planning councillors have zero clue about what is going on in Manchester or London, nor what constitutes as sleek or beautiful. They think beautiful means more is more and that is not the case. I think Lumiere and The Kissing Towers were both sleek, simple and beautiful. Hopefully 44 Merrion and Claypit Lane by Ian Simpson Architechs will improve the skyline. Funnily enough the last four towers mentioned are all Ian Simpson designs, mostly responsible for the Manchester skyline. Just put them in charge I say.
commented on your last video a few days ago and it's like you read my mind - very glad to see leeds have a feature. really enjoyed the video, really well-made as per!
This was fascinating and really well researched. There needs to be a more joined up and cohesive approach to tall building design in uk cities. Clusters should be encouraged rather than piecemeal.
Yes, I agree with you. Clustering creates a more impressive and cohesive skyline. Most of these buildings are pretty bland and if you scatter them everywhere you are spreading the misery.
As someone from Leeds and moved to Manchester temporarily, I have to admit, this is what Manchester has had over Leeds for a while. I don't know who designs the buildings, but Manchester architecture, from old school to modern is just on a different league, similar to what you'd see in capital cities. Something I wish I saw more of in Leeds.
The buildings are not that bad, but why aren't the top architects from North like Foster and Partners being invited to design some of the buildings. What about the role of Town Planning stull suffering from the 1970's roads policy with a modern rapid transit system on viaducts to match London, e.g., the Docklands Light Railway.
Leeds council love making it difficult for tower developers. The commonest is telling them lop 10+ floors off the plan, making them unviable, so the develops go to Manchester instead. Leeds loss is Manchesters gain and its self inflicted .
I quite like the way Leeds are going for it with their high rises, but until this vid I never realised that so much of it was for student accommodation. As might be implied in this one, hope you do Manchester next.
Agreed, i mean if you shoot the Shard on an overcast, grey day it's not going to look particularly good. I think Leed's only real issue is being in Yorkshire, where it gets more than its share of grey days. Only issue I have with skyscrapers in Leeds is how many are currently going up at once. Been a while since i looked up in the center without seeing multiple cranes all around me.
@@billhosko7723Leeds as no skyscrapers just high rises it as to be 150m+ to be considered a skyscraper leeds just as Poundland developers making cheap tacky buildings and this is someone who as a view of the west side what is just a random mess of brick
Thanks for sharing, I’m obsessed with high buildings, a city without any skyscrapers isn’t a city for me ,even though city is only if there is a cathedral. Are cotingly 2 tower locks the tallest building as they have 25 floors. Glasgow had the tallest flats in Europe. Ross cumbria, 🤘👍
The skyline in leeds is awful my view from the west side makes it look like a random mess we need rid of the councillors running the ‘tall tower team’ (more like anti-tall tower team) then rid of these ‘poundland developers’ who build rubbish like the transformer building 🤢 that’s going up now on the west side aswell. Developers like renaker need encouraging to come to leeds and build huge nice towers like in Manchester
Great job with this video. All of these buildings lack beauty and imagination but you are spot on that Opal 3 is one of the worst of them. With its small windows it looks like a prison block. I think when you are building something as big and impactful as these buildings are, you have a serious responsibility to enhance the visual environment of a city. What's needed is a quality architect like Heatherwick, Foster, or Hadid or a return to the ethos that's existed for most of civilization (that is before the Second World War) that all significant buildings had to be beautiful.
I only just discovered this video, but I want to say it was very well done, mate. I've been screaming at the absolute state of this city for years. There are a few things I think you left out though. Whilst I appreciate you calling out the god-awful, cheap, bland pile of trash student accomodation near the Merrion centre. However, I think you left out a major issue with Leeds. That being its insistent on overusing brick cladding. Near bridgewater place, they have erected tonnes of new awful, bland, uniform brick monstrosities that look like commie blocks from the Soviet Union. Leeds City Council needs to start giving a damn about their city and stop approving these cheap looking eyesores.
@samdaniels2 I actually thought they was rebuilding the tetley factories unil someone told me they’re are flats i was just speechless I can’t believe someone imagined to build them and thought ‘yeah these look great’ 🤦
@@Kane-y3p I know, mate. What’s worse about the sterlet site, is that originally it was planned to have 4 soaring modern glass towers. But no, LCC have decided in their infinite wisdom, to build (another) bland, brick eyesore. Because if there’s anything Leeds needs, it’s more bland monolithic brick shithouses.
@@samdaniels2wait until you see the transformer’ getting built now. It’s was originally gona be the ‘clamp’ a lovely glass building that’s looked very modern and almost futuristic. But no we gone from having the ‘clamp’ to getting the ‘tramp’ 😞
@@Kane-y3p Oh god, I think I know the one you’re on about. If you fancy making yourself depressed, look at the early noughties plans for: “the Kite”, “Criterion Place” and the “Lumiere”. Leeds. The city that had so much potential thrown away by a council of clowns for no other reason that apathy.
Why is it than whenever Leeds is mentioned someone pipes up about Manchester. It’s such a boring yet continuing comparison. So much for northern solidarity.
@@aljyncoI’m from leeds and absolutely love Manchesters skyline Iv stopped shopping in leeds and take the family to a far superior city than leeds and that’s Manchester and tbh I can’t take Leeds serious as a city anymore it’s just a big town for hen nights stag does etc competing with Blackpool I’d say tbh Manchester is everything shopping (better than leeds does it) fantastic food (way better than leeds plenty of local street food aswell) and entertainment (Leeds got zero in that department going back to just catering to out of Towners getting married) and Manchester as a fully functional transport system (Leeds just doesn’t have this at all) when we was getting luminere and criterion and the kite and spiral we all laughed at Manchester so they have every right to look down at us over the pennines they’ve surpassed us so much they are competing with London and unofficial (I think will become official soon) the second city as everyone go there now just sitting in the beetham tower overlooking deansgate In awe of the south tower seeing more world class skyscrapers going up is breath taking until you seen you just don’t know how good it is it feels like a major world city now that’s the difference good luck to Manchester whilst we watch the transformer get built whilst Manchester gets their new 265m tower 😞
@@Kane-y3p I lived in Manchester for 3 years but grew up in Leeds. Manchester is bigger and has to be when you consider the population of greater Manchester; it is the central hub for over 2 Million people. Leeds caters to just shy of half of this population size from the greater Leeds area. So, less people = less need for a more expansive centre. That said, I still feel Manchester is completely inadequate for the title of a big city; and the narrative that it compares to London is even more laughable. It certainly has its strong points, like as you said it’s transport system is good and Leeds unfortunately must improve in this area. But, the town planning of the place is just plain awful. Walking around Manchester is like being cattle hearded round horribly narrow streets all while trying not to get flattened by trams. As for your point regarding restaurants, shops and bars etc of course Manchester has a great selection and the trafford centre, but again its often hard to enjoy these perks without being trampled and without everyone of your senses being assaulted. I would also argue that Leeds also has a great selection of restaurants, bars & shops; less than Manchester but the strength here is that in Leeds you can actually ENJOY being in the city centre and going out. It has an excellent night life scene and a wonderful array of pubs/bars/clubs all within easy distance of one another. It’s just nice to to walk freely in Leeds without being tailgated like you would in Manchester. If Manchester would like to actually compete with London it needs a MASSIVE facelift; one i imagine would take so much demolition and re-development it would take decades. Instead, more and more development will continue all while the narrow, suffocating foot print of the centre will never change and therefore it will most likely continue to have horrible foot traffic that will become more and more unbearable as the population continues to increase. Simply put, Manchester has all the conveniences of a bigger city but none of the joy (whilst London has both convenience and joy). Just because Manchester now has large towers that locals can’t afford, does not grant it big city status.
That's a well researched and compiled video and there are some good points made, but also a lot of subjective opinions and what seems like reeled off stereotypes. I agree the plain grey cladding of the '90s and 2000s was poor such as on Park Plaza Hotel and Opal 3 student accommodation block, but that phase of design seems to have passed, lessons learned and moved on, none of the new proposals are continuing this trend as most are to be brick, glass or ceramic type cladding, so the grey will become diluted out the skyline in the future - and why no mention of the new glass clad 44 Merrion Street approaching completion which is up to international architectural standards and a real game changer for Leeds? The comments about geometric shapes also seem a little odd, what else are buildings going to have? If they were all plain rectangular blocks they would be considered too plain and tedious, so I and many others are pleased to see the likes of Bridgewater Place. Also the mixed variety of finishes you criticise is to other peoples' preference as not everyone likes the uniformity of the Renaker 'look', however the comparisons with quality of the Manchester's Renaker buildings is fairly obvious and pointless as those residential developments are in a different commercial league which Leeds can't compete with at the moment, although who knows for the future?
You want to see some fantastic design and architecture, the Leeds Market is fantastic I don't like the tall buildings. I much prefer the old Victorian buildings, many that we've lost
Excellent video. I encourage you to remember that the arrival of ‘large’ buildings in the 19th century brought out much the same criticism. Railways are still seen that way by many but have become, like inner city motorways, a necessary evil. Avoidable ugliness should be in the planners mind but all to often, need dictates function over form. And of course, profit over design. The population have a way of passing judgement, and they have destroyed the worst of the high rise tenements foisted on them. Let us trust that future planners will learn from past and present mistakes.
Doesn’t help councillors taking brown envolopes of developers on the old international pool site the old police station is getting rebricked well this shouldn’t happen it should be knocked down and turned to greenery as too many awful looking buildings are been built their it’s gona look so crammed although I do like the hexagon tower going in their gone are the days skyscrapers like the kite was going in their and luminere just further up we need these councillors out before the skyline is completely ruined and encourage renaker over to save it
Apart from Liverpool the great Northern cities did not have a professional middle class living in the centre, so they have had to scrape away their poor quality housing which were once inhabited by the industrial working class. None of them were blessed with great Georgian townhouses which you see in London or Edinburgh, again Liverpool Is the exception, although Liverpool lost its wealthy to Southport, Formby and the Wirral and the Georgian bit became a slum. That has now changed in Liverpool as the houses are being repopulated. Leeds, like Manchester had to recreate its centre for the new professionals to live in. Some are hit and some are a miss. Manchester’s skyscraper district on Deansgate and its Trinity Island developments are spectacular. The Great Jackson street area is jaw dropping from the overhead railway.
Manchester ain’t got shit on London 🎉 This whole front about Manchester being a big city is laughable; all the convinces of one yet none of the pleasure. At least Leeds folk aren’t so self-aggrandising, we know we’re a small city and that’s ok.
@@aljyncoI thought Leeds was bigger than Manchester? In population? I rather like Manchester’s cockiness. This country could do with more Manchester’s and less of this,false modesty. There is a refreshing honesty about Manchester. “ We love our city, and we couldn’t care less if you like it or not.” God help us if everywhere was like Bradford, where everyone looks like extras in The Hills have eyes. When you visit Manchester, it’s confidence and optimism is contagious.
@@paulwild3676 Manchester is bigger if you consider the wider metropolitan area (greater Manchester vs Greater Leeds area). I lived in Manchester for 3 years so i’m well acquainted with the mancunian mantra; cockiness and confidence which is a facade of insecurity. The place will never quite touch London, and nor is as big as people proclaim it to be. Shouting from the roof tops that it can hold its own in the big city leagues is so inconsistent with the reality of the place. “We do things differently here” - not anymore. The characteristics that once made the place interesting, different, cultured and textured have been eroded. It’s hard to find that gritty northernness amongst sleek skyscraper apartments that locals can’t afford. It is much more honest to be aligned with the actual tangible reality of one’s city, than to run along with narratives that are now so outdated and delusional. The optimism you noted should be channeled into taking back some of that northern authenticity back. Oh, and slating another northern city like Bradford is exactly part of the problem. Manchester is not the sole proprietor of the north and TRUE northern optimism is solidarity with the whole north and everyone of its cities. This Manchester superiority complex is exhausting and completely opposes what we understand the Mancunian attitude to be.
@@aljynco I think it is more to do with everybody else’s passive/aggressive attitude towards Manchester. We hate it, but we begrudgingly use its airport. We don’t like the people but we have to admit they are exceptionally creative and competitive. I find that Northern authenticity you mention boring. I don’t want to be associated with a pair of clogs and a coal mine and thankfully Manchester blows that stereotype out of the water now, or so the people who have relocated there from the South East say. Leeds is a nice city but it is too Yorkshire. Manchester recently, and Liverpool a long time ago, dropped that Northern eeh bah gum, which is still evident in Leeds. I respect your point of view and some of what you say is valid. I wholly agree about the football, music narrative and wish Manchester emphasised more on its amazing libraries, theatres and educational institutions.
@@paulwild3676 passive aggressive? I really don’t think that’s the opinion people express. If anything they’re more direct about the state of the north and how manchester or their own city sits within that discussion. Take the Airport situation; people in Leeds are far more likely to discuss the fact hat LBA is sub par rather than passive aggressively shun Manchester airport. Rather, they use Mcr airport as unfortunately it’s the only big airport in the North. As for this dislike towards Manchester, I’d argue it’s quite the opposite. Most Yorkshire folk are quite content, same with scousers. I find that it’s much more prevalent that mancs (not all) are incredibly sensitive to criticism and they tend to lash out at other northerners and just can’t stop themselves from interjecting about Manchester (yawn). It’s as though you cannot positively mention another northern city without some comment about manchester. What a boring, unproductive, and quite frankly anti-northern attitude it is.
I would disagree Leeds Architecture is that opposite to Sheffield ie Embraceing the Mondain for the Future The Plazza hotel i remember it getting re claded felt drepress its og one was lovely The pinnacle always reminds me of the owens building in Sheffield ie Sheffield Halam
What on earth you on about, the vast majority of new tall buildings in leeds look fantastic with some really decent ones still to go up. The city is doing fantastic in fact i will stick my neck out here and say that once the other talls are up leeds will have the best skyline outside london!!
Harsh? We are stuck with these buildings for all of our lifetimes. They are so huge, you can't avoid seeing them. Will future generations love and appreciate them like we do with Victorian, Georgian, or Tudor architecture? I think not!
@@ians3586 I'm from Newcastle, and we have similar. Yes they aren't Victorian etc and or horrible, but they are still ok. At least they have been cladded to hide the awful concrete
@@POLITICAL-BIAS. true. They are better than the brutalist concrete monstrosities of the 60's and 70's but they still boring. They're purely functional with little thought for aesthetics or visual interest.
In the 90s I’d drive back to Leeds from Chester. The best but was the M621 and I’d see the Leeds skyline which consisted of town hall, civic hall and the white tower of Leeds Uni located near Hyde park. I’d get a great feeling and think yes I’m home. I dont feel that way anymore.
Really enjoyed this video. I work in Leeds and agree that some are hit and miss. There are some new and very well planned developments. But a lot of very dated ones. Keep the content coming!
I’ve been waiting so long for a video on leeds, thank you so much and keep up the great work!
Thanks!
I think the problem is the councillors, I once sat in a planning meeting for the proposed CEG skyscraper. Honestly, the conversation was cringe and if I was an investor I would avoid Leeds altogether based on the councilors alone. I think planning councillors have zero clue about what is going on in Manchester or London, nor what constitutes as sleek or beautiful. They think beautiful means more is more and that is not the case. I think Lumiere and The Kissing Towers were both sleek, simple and beautiful. Hopefully 44 Merrion and Claypit Lane by Ian Simpson Architechs will improve the skyline. Funnily enough the last four towers mentioned are all Ian Simpson designs, mostly responsible for the Manchester skyline. Just put them in charge I say.
The Leeds Skyscrapers weren't designed to look good. They were designed to jump off.
commented on your last video a few days ago and it's like you read my mind - very glad to see leeds have a feature. really enjoyed the video, really well-made as per!
I saw your last comment, as I was finishing this video. Thought I would leave the leeds video as a surprise
This was fascinating and really well researched. There needs to be a more joined up and cohesive approach to tall building design in uk cities. Clusters should be encouraged rather than piecemeal.
Yes, I agree with you. Clustering creates a more impressive and cohesive skyline. Most of these buildings are pretty bland and if you scatter them everywhere you are spreading the misery.
As someone from Leeds and moved to Manchester temporarily, I have to admit, this is what Manchester has had over Leeds for a while.
I don't know who designs the buildings, but Manchester architecture, from old school to modern is just on a different league, similar to what you'd see in capital cities. Something I wish I saw more of in Leeds.
Interesting and informative video Jordan. I spent a lot of time in Leeds in my youth and saw some significant changes.
The buildings are not that bad, but why aren't the top architects from North like Foster and Partners being invited to design some of the buildings. What about the role of Town Planning stull suffering from the 1970's roads policy with a modern rapid transit system on viaducts to match London, e.g., the Docklands Light Railway.
Leeds council love making it difficult for tower developers. The commonest is telling them lop 10+ floors off the plan, making them unviable, so the develops go to Manchester instead.
Leeds loss is Manchesters gain and its self inflicted .
They reduced springwell garden 2 from 145m to 95m probably making the now might aswell call just block of flats broader maybe 🤢
I quite like the way Leeds are going for it with their high rises, but until this vid I never realised that so much of it was for student accommodation. As might be implied in this one, hope you do Manchester next.
I agree I like that leeds aren’t scared to build tall
0:38 don't forget the huge chimneys erected in the 19th Century in many of these cities also
There not buildings. There structures
@@FoxOnFilm2209 *they’re
@@SpringsteenRecordings shut your sound hole
Just discovered you're channel, where have I been all this time.
Really interesting niche, right up my street!
They don’t look that bad. That’s coming from someone who lives in Leeds.
Agreed, i mean if you shoot the Shard on an overcast, grey day it's not going to look particularly good. I think Leed's only real issue is being in Yorkshire, where it gets more than its share of grey days. Only issue I have with skyscrapers in Leeds is how many are currently going up at once. Been a while since i looked up in the center without seeing multiple cranes all around me.
Chuckle... Leeds has few 'skyscrapers'. @@SimonS188
@@billhosko7723Leeds as no skyscrapers just high rises it as to be 150m+ to be considered a skyscraper leeds just as Poundland developers making cheap tacky buildings and this is someone who as a view of the west side what is just a random mess of brick
Thanks for sharing, I’m obsessed with high buildings, a city without any skyscrapers isn’t a city for me ,even though city is only if there is a cathedral. Are cotingly 2 tower locks the tallest building as they have 25 floors. Glasgow had the tallest flats in Europe. Ross cumbria, 🤘👍
The skyline in leeds is awful my view from the west side makes it look like a random mess we need rid of the councillors running the ‘tall tower team’ (more like anti-tall tower team) then rid of these ‘poundland developers’ who build rubbish like the transformer building 🤢 that’s going up now on the west side aswell. Developers like renaker need encouraging to come to leeds and build huge nice towers like in Manchester
Great job with this video. All of these buildings lack beauty and imagination but you are spot on that Opal 3 is one of the worst of them. With its small windows it looks like a prison block. I think when you are building something as big and impactful as these buildings are, you have a serious responsibility to enhance the visual environment of a city. What's needed is a quality architect like Heatherwick, Foster, or Hadid or a return to the ethos that's existed for most of civilization (that is before the Second World War) that all significant buildings had to be beautiful.
Yah, but lot's a Kariens today claim they know what 'true' beauty is - while they remain dateless...
Great video Jordan
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video. I did wonder the difference between Leeds and Manchester.
Glad you enjoyed it
Very informative, thanks for that.
great video and interesting
I only just discovered this video, but I want to say it was very well done, mate. I've been screaming at the absolute state of this city for years.
There are a few things I think you left out though. Whilst I appreciate you calling out the god-awful, cheap, bland pile of trash student accomodation near the Merrion centre. However, I think you left out a major issue with Leeds. That being its insistent on overusing brick cladding. Near bridgewater place, they have erected tonnes of new awful, bland, uniform brick monstrosities that look like commie blocks from the Soviet Union.
Leeds City Council needs to start giving a damn about their city and stop approving these cheap looking eyesores.
@samdaniels2 I actually thought they was rebuilding the tetley factories unil someone told me they’re are flats i was just speechless I can’t believe someone imagined to build them and thought ‘yeah these look great’ 🤦
@@Kane-y3p I know, mate. What’s worse about the sterlet site, is that originally it was planned to have 4 soaring modern glass towers.
But no, LCC have decided in their infinite wisdom, to build (another) bland, brick eyesore. Because if there’s anything Leeds needs, it’s more bland monolithic brick shithouses.
@@samdaniels2wait until you see the transformer’ getting built now. It’s was originally gona be the ‘clamp’ a lovely glass building that’s looked very modern and almost futuristic. But no we gone from having the ‘clamp’ to getting the ‘tramp’ 😞
@@Kane-y3p Oh god, I think I know the one you’re on about.
If you fancy making yourself depressed, look at the early noughties plans for: “the Kite”, “Criterion Place” and the “Lumiere”.
Leeds. The city that had so much potential thrown away by a council of clowns for no other reason that apathy.
The skyscrapers aren't a patch on Manchester's, they look like they've been done on the cheap in my opinion
Why is it than whenever Leeds is mentioned someone pipes up about Manchester. It’s such a boring yet continuing comparison. So much for northern solidarity.
@@aljyncoI’m from leeds and absolutely love Manchesters skyline Iv stopped shopping in leeds and take the family to a far superior city than leeds and that’s Manchester and tbh I can’t take Leeds serious as a city anymore it’s just a big town for hen nights stag does etc competing with Blackpool I’d say tbh Manchester is everything shopping (better than leeds does it) fantastic food (way better than leeds plenty of local street food aswell) and entertainment (Leeds got zero in that department going back to just catering to out of Towners getting married) and Manchester as a fully functional transport system (Leeds just doesn’t have this at all) when we was getting luminere and criterion and the kite and spiral we all laughed at Manchester so they have every right to look down at us over the pennines they’ve surpassed us so much they are competing with London and unofficial (I think will become official soon) the second city as everyone go there now just sitting in the beetham tower overlooking deansgate In awe of the south tower seeing more world class skyscrapers going up is breath taking until you seen you just don’t know how good it is it feels like a major world city now that’s the difference good luck to Manchester whilst we watch the transformer get built whilst Manchester gets their new 265m tower 😞
@@Kane-y3p I lived in Manchester for 3 years but grew up in Leeds. Manchester is bigger and has to be when you consider the population of greater Manchester; it is the central hub for over 2 Million people. Leeds caters to just shy of half of this population size from the greater Leeds area. So, less people = less need for a more expansive centre. That said, I still feel Manchester is completely inadequate for the title of a big city; and the narrative that it compares to London is even more laughable. It certainly has its strong points, like as you said it’s transport system is good and Leeds unfortunately must improve in this area. But, the town planning of the place is just plain awful. Walking around Manchester is like being cattle hearded round horribly narrow streets all while trying not to get flattened by trams. As for your point regarding restaurants, shops and bars etc of course Manchester has a great selection and the trafford centre, but again its often hard to enjoy these perks without being trampled and without everyone of your senses being assaulted. I would also argue that Leeds also has a great selection of restaurants, bars & shops; less than Manchester but the strength here is that in Leeds you can actually ENJOY being in the city centre and going out. It has an excellent night life scene and a wonderful array of pubs/bars/clubs all within easy distance of one another. It’s just nice to to walk freely in Leeds without being tailgated like you would in Manchester. If Manchester would like to actually compete with London it needs a MASSIVE facelift; one i imagine would take so much demolition and re-development it would take decades. Instead, more and more development will continue all while the narrow, suffocating foot print of the centre will never change and therefore it will most likely continue to have horrible foot traffic that will become more and more unbearable as the population continues to increase. Simply put, Manchester has all the conveniences of a bigger city but none of the joy (whilst London has both convenience and joy). Just because Manchester now has large towers that locals can’t afford, does not grant it big city status.
@@Kane-y3p Leeds isn’t going to expand if its residents take their money elsewhere 🤷🏻♂️
@@grantmcdonald524 but that’s on the council isn’t it? Not on me.
That's a well researched and compiled video and there are some good points made, but also a lot of subjective opinions and what seems like reeled off stereotypes.
I agree the plain grey cladding of the '90s and 2000s was poor such as on Park Plaza Hotel and Opal 3 student accommodation block, but that phase of design seems to have passed, lessons learned and moved on, none of the new proposals are continuing this trend as most are to be brick, glass or ceramic type cladding, so the grey will become diluted out the skyline in the future - and why no mention of the new glass clad 44 Merrion Street approaching completion which is up to international architectural standards and a real game changer for Leeds?
The comments about geometric shapes also seem a little odd, what else are buildings going to have? If they were all plain rectangular blocks they would be considered too plain and tedious, so I and many others are pleased to see the likes of Bridgewater Place. Also the mixed variety of finishes you criticise is to other peoples' preference as not everyone likes the uniformity of the Renaker 'look', however the comparisons with quality of the Manchester's Renaker buildings is fairly obvious and pointless as those residential developments are in a different commercial league which Leeds can't compete with at the moment, although who knows for the future?
Good video.
Thanks!
I actually like them haha
I think the round one looks good. Better than Newcastle's tall buildings.
The round one, is probably my favourite tall building in the north
You should go look inside the atrium at bridgewater place quite a view inside. Its open to rhe public.
Hey man I’ve just started architecture at Northumbria after 8 years a carpenter I’d love to chat buildings with you
very good video. i'm in north leeds and heard from a property agent that the new student skyscrapers going up are funded by international companies
L😅😅k at the state of Leeds now - disgusting buildings and student accommodation.
You want to see some fantastic design and architecture, the Leeds Market is fantastic
I don't like the tall buildings. I much prefer the old Victorian buildings, many that we've lost
Go awaay karein... to Morcombe then. geez
Don't mind atlas house tbh
Excellent video. I encourage you to remember that the arrival of ‘large’ buildings in the 19th century brought out much the same criticism. Railways are still seen that way by many but have become, like inner city motorways, a necessary evil.
Avoidable ugliness should be in the planners mind but all to often, need dictates function over form. And of course, profit over design.
The population have a way of passing judgement, and they have destroyed the worst of the high rise tenements foisted on them. Let us trust that future planners will learn from past and present mistakes.
Doesn’t help councillors taking brown envolopes of developers on the old international pool site the old police station is getting rebricked well this shouldn’t happen it should be knocked down and turned to greenery as too many awful looking buildings are been built their it’s gona look so crammed although I do like the hexagon tower going in their gone are the days skyscrapers like the kite was going in their and luminere just further up we need these councillors out before the skyline is completely ruined and encourage renaker over to save it
Making excuses for thoughtless 'planners' and 'designers' who think they know better. Leeds, HAS squandered a massive opportunity, repeatedly.
Happy to live in Liverpool 😁
Great and very interesting video, And it's Altus House NOT Atlas House. But all in all a very good video, Really enjoyed it
Have you moved to leeds?
Nah I haven’t moved. Just trying to cover the architecture of other northern cities alongside Newcastle
Apart from Liverpool the great Northern cities did not have a professional middle class living in the centre, so they have had to scrape away their poor quality housing which were once inhabited by the industrial working class. None of them were blessed with great Georgian townhouses which you see in London or Edinburgh, again Liverpool Is the exception, although Liverpool lost its wealthy to Southport, Formby and the Wirral and the Georgian bit became a slum. That has now changed in Liverpool as the houses are being repopulated. Leeds, like Manchester had to recreate its centre for the new professionals to live in. Some are hit and some are a miss. Manchester’s skyscraper district on Deansgate and its Trinity Island developments are spectacular. The Great Jackson street area is jaw dropping from the overhead railway.
What do you consider the centre? Headingley had plenty of middle class people.
@@rwalton159Headingley is a suburb to me but I am happy for you to think otherwise.
I'm like Leeds
Gasp! The Emperor has NO Clothes. 100%
Leeds ain't got shit on Manchester 🎉
Manchester ain’t got shit on London 🎉 This whole front about Manchester being a big city is laughable; all the convinces of one yet none of the pleasure. At least Leeds folk aren’t so self-aggrandising, we know we’re a small city and that’s ok.
@@aljyncoI thought Leeds was bigger than Manchester? In population? I rather like Manchester’s cockiness. This country could do with more Manchester’s and less of this,false modesty. There is a refreshing honesty about Manchester. “ We love our city, and we couldn’t care less if you like it or not.” God help us if everywhere was like Bradford, where everyone looks like extras in The Hills have eyes. When you visit Manchester, it’s confidence and optimism is contagious.
@@paulwild3676 Manchester is bigger if you consider the wider metropolitan area (greater Manchester vs Greater Leeds area).
I lived in Manchester for 3 years so i’m well acquainted with the mancunian mantra; cockiness and confidence which is a facade of insecurity. The place will never quite touch London, and nor is as big as people proclaim it to be. Shouting from the roof tops that it can hold its own in the big city leagues is so inconsistent with the reality of the place. “We do things differently here” - not anymore. The characteristics that once made the place interesting, different, cultured and textured have been eroded. It’s hard to find that gritty northernness amongst sleek skyscraper apartments that locals can’t afford. It is much more honest to be aligned with the actual tangible reality of one’s city, than to run along with narratives that are now so outdated and delusional. The optimism you noted should be channeled into taking back some of that northern authenticity back. Oh, and slating another northern city like Bradford is exactly part of the problem. Manchester is not the sole proprietor of the north and TRUE northern optimism is solidarity with the whole north and everyone of its cities. This Manchester superiority complex is exhausting and completely opposes what we understand the Mancunian attitude to be.
@@aljynco I think it is more to do with everybody else’s passive/aggressive attitude towards Manchester. We hate it, but we begrudgingly use its airport. We don’t like the people but we have to admit they are exceptionally creative and competitive. I find that Northern authenticity you mention boring. I don’t want to be associated with a pair of clogs and a coal mine and thankfully Manchester blows that stereotype out of the water now, or so the people who have relocated there from the South East say. Leeds is a nice city but it is too Yorkshire. Manchester recently, and Liverpool a long time ago, dropped that Northern eeh bah gum, which is still evident in Leeds. I respect your point of view and some of what you say is valid. I wholly agree about the football, music narrative and wish Manchester emphasised more on its amazing libraries, theatres and educational institutions.
@@paulwild3676 passive aggressive? I really don’t think that’s the opinion people express. If anything they’re more direct about the state of the north and how manchester or their own city sits within that discussion. Take the Airport situation; people in Leeds are far more likely to discuss the fact hat LBA is sub par rather than passive aggressively shun Manchester airport. Rather, they use Mcr airport as unfortunately it’s the only big airport in the North. As for this dislike towards Manchester, I’d argue it’s quite the opposite. Most Yorkshire folk are quite content, same with scousers. I find that it’s much more prevalent that mancs (not all) are incredibly sensitive to criticism and they tend to lash out at other northerners and just can’t stop themselves from interjecting about Manchester (yawn). It’s as though you cannot positively mention another northern city without some comment about manchester. What a boring, unproductive, and quite frankly anti-northern attitude it is.
Soulless, the exception of Candle House.
I would disagree Leeds Architecture is that opposite to Sheffield ie Embraceing the Mondain for the Future
The Plazza hotel i remember it getting re claded felt drepress its og one was lovely
The pinnacle always reminds me of the owens building in Sheffield ie Sheffield Halam
Shouldn’t you be in school mate 😂
modern architecture as a whole is jsut awful and skyscrapers are great at highligting that
Go do one Jordan. Your opinion is that of a fool
What on earth you on about, the vast majority of new tall buildings in leeds look fantastic with some really decent ones still to go up. The city is doing fantastic in fact i will stick my neck out here and say that once the other talls are up leeds will have the best skyline outside london!!
must be an ostrich then... this video is 100%...
Leeds and Manchester..Best Avoided..Saves you Time and Money
I enjoy your uploads, but I think you're being a bit harsh.
Appreciate the response, might be being too judgmental
I would argue the opposite!
Harsh? We are stuck with these buildings for all of our lifetimes. They are so huge, you can't avoid seeing them. Will future generations love and appreciate them like we do with Victorian, Georgian, or Tudor architecture? I think not!
@@ians3586 I'm from Newcastle, and we have similar. Yes they aren't Victorian etc and or horrible, but they are still ok. At least they have been cladded to hide the awful concrete
@@POLITICAL-BIAS. true. They are better than the brutalist concrete monstrosities of the 60's and 70's but they still boring. They're purely functional with little thought for aesthetics or visual interest.
Today's.new.build.tomorrows.slums😢too.many.student.accomodation.not.enough.affordable.housing😢.