MPV Nightclub
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Four identical prefabricated steel hulled red pods that protrude from four interconnected railway arches in Leeds city centre, for use as bar, restaurant or nightclub
By day, the shiny shuttered pods give no clue as to the use or point of entry to the building. Each 7x3m front wall is in fact a counter-weighted, hinged door, which opens upwards on a power-assisted winch mechanism to form a canopy.
The four units are based on the same structural system with either single- or two-storey spaces adapted for their individual uses, such as bar, restaurant and nightclub. The steel construction provides the primary structure of ground and first floors, roof and walls integral with the steel skin, which provides the external envelope. The ground and first floors consist of timber joists spanning between the primary steel ribs and supporting plywood decking.
The design addresses the site constraints incurred due to the units being located within the arches of an operational Railtrack viaduct. The requirement for access for inspection and maintenance of the brickwork of the arches was resolved by the freestanding design of the units. This allows free access to arches and the roof of the units was designed to take access loading for Railtrack inspection purposes.
Data
- Begun: Jan 2001
- Completed: Nov 2002
- Floor area: 290m2
- Sector: Sports and leisure
- Total cost: £512,989
- Tender date: Jan 2001
- Procurement: JCT 98
- Address: 5-8 Church Walk, Leeds, LS2 7EG, United Kingdom
Professional Team
- Architect: Union North
- Client: Townhouse Life Ltd
- Structural engineer: Fulcrum Consulting/ WW
- Fire consultant: Fulcrum Consulting/ WW
- M&E consultant: Fulcrum Consulting/ WW
- Main contractor: Simons Construction
Suppliers
- Steel Fabricator: Merseyside Ship Repairers
- External painting: E&P Coatings
- Bar equipment: Dawnvale Catering Equipment
- Sound system: 52nd Street
- Electrical installation: Baseline Electrical Engineers
- Glassfibre door shells and nosepieces: IJF Developments