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CASPAR Apartments Leeds

Levitt Bernstein, Leeds, 2000

 

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With its CASPAR city-centre apartments in Leeds, Levitt Bernstein has attempted to bring young people into to the city centre with a simple, inexpensive modular construction 

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  • With its CASPAR city-centre apartments in Leeds, Levitt Bernstein has attempted to bring young people into to the city centre with a simple, inexpensive modular construction    
  • External access galleries – a modification of the traditional Oxbridge college pattern – are more friendly than internal corridors    
  • External access galleries – a modification of the traditional Oxbridge college pattern – are more friendly than internal corridors    
  • Each unit has a balcony or patio space and a view over the enclosed, south-facing courtyard    
  •     
  • Living rooms and bedrooms were assembled from prefabricated components. Other rooms, including services, were delivered to site as a factory-made ‘core’    
  • The apartments as seen from the road    
  • Site plan    
  • Unit plan    
  • The modules being moved on site    
  • Construction projection    
  • Working detail: Module wall construction    
  • Working detail: Timber frame construction    

City-centre apartments in Leeds, located on a busy ring-road using inexpensive modular construction

CASPAR II (City-Centre Apartments for Single People at Affordable Rents) is the second project by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) to provide affordable housing for young singles and couples working in Leeds city centre.

The difficult sloping site for this residential development has led to a semi-circular building located on what is essentially a traffic island, surrounded by busy roads, including the city's inner ring road. The scheme turns its back on the traffic, and focuses inward on a pleasant south facing courtyard overlooked by balconies.

The designers have employed construction methods, including factory made service modules (bathroom, kitchen, hallways, study/dining area), prefabricated living rooms and bedrooms assembled on site, and stairs, walkways and balconies independent of the main timber structure, to create a landmark building.

Data

  • Begun: Sep 1999
  • Completed: May 2000
  • Floor area: 2,455m2
  • Sector: Residential
  • Total cost: £2.4M
  • Procurement: Design and build/partnering
  • Address: CASPAR Apartments, North Street, Leeds, LS7 2AA, United Kingdom

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