BRINGING A MIX OF USES, THIS CITY CENTRE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE A SUSTAINABLE AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE DESTINATION

Heart of the City Sheffield
Heart of the City

Working in collaboration with Sheffield City Council and strategic development partner, Queensberry, the redevelopment of Block H within the wider Heart of the City masterplan respects the area’s unique character, existing street patterns and buildings by weaving in bold new architecture and outdoor spaces.

Our masterplan  brings together three interwoven uses: Elshaw House - a flagship office building, The Cambridge Street Collective - a large, industrial-style food hall,  and Leah’s Yard - studios in the historic metalworkers workshops, Each has a distinct style – and a distinct story to tell.

A celebration of heritage that looks to the future, stitching together the old and the new to create spaces for people to come together, to work, to socialise, play, eat, drink, make.
Elshaw House is a new low-carbon office building offering 70,000 sq ft of workspace and an impressive and enviable south-facing roof terrace. Independent shops and cafes will help to bring vitality to street level on all sides of the building.

The Cambridge Street frontages tell the story of this area of Sheffield over the past 200 years, including the Grade II Listed Bethel Sunday School.

Our work will include the conservation of the street-facing fronts of two of the oldest buildings on the site, which date from the early 19th Century. These will be enclosed at their rear with an industrial-style new-build structure, housing a food hall, restaurant and rooftop bar to create much-needed social spaces within the city. The existing Bethel Chapel building will also be sympathetically renovated, with plans for it to become a live entertainment venue.

Key Information

Sector: Mixed Use, Heritage & Creative Reuse, Community , Workplace

Client: Sheffield City Council

Location: Sheffield

Completion: 2024

A one of a kind foodie destination

The Cambridge Street frontages tell the story of this area of Sheffield over the past 200 years, with memories and experiences embedded into their form: From the former Henry’s Corner , to the Grade II Listed Bethel Sunday School, now renovated with plans for it to become a live entertainment venue, the street has kept its atmosphere and human scale, ready to be home to independent shops, bars and cafes again.

Behind the shop fronts, inserted into the site, is The Cambridge Street Collective - Europe’s largest purpose-built food hall and a destination for Sheffield.

Hosting bars, restaurants, a cookery school and a rooftop bar. This industrial scale space is raw and flexible and designed to accommodate changing requirements daily, from coffee meet ups and afterwork drinks, to festivals and cookery demonstrations. The black steel interior detailing and corten exterior cladding’s industrial aesthetic makes for a modern backdrop.

Heart of The City is delivering jobs, opportunities and renewed vibrancy to our brilliant city centre.

Councillor Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council

CREATING SPACE FOR NEW IDEAS

Grade II listed Leah’s Yard houses a collection of small former industrial workshops with a fascinating history. We developed the concept plan to bring these units back into sustainable use as a home for the city’s next creative generation.

A bustling central public courtyard is surrounded by small boutique shops, while the first and second floors are now home to around 20 independent studios.

A sensitive conservation of the workshops around a pedestrianised central square, our plans for Leah’s Yard were to stabilise the structures and conserve the brick workshops, while improving their environmental performance, to create comfortable studios for modern craftspeople.

a sustainable workplace capturing the spirit of environmental innovation

Elshaw House is a new low-carbon office building offering 70,000 sq ft of workspace and an impressive and enviable south-facing roof terrace.

The Grade A office space has achieved an ‘excellent’ five-star NABERS UK rating due to its lean design, providing a structure with 40% lower than average carbon usage. This places it in the top 1% of office buildings in the UK for energy efficiency.
Future efficiencies, specifically energy use, guided design decisions throughout the building and its construction. Reuse of existing materials, lean design and low carbon choices have resulted in a structure with 40% lower embodied carbon than average.

The building’s dark coloured metal finish is inspired by Sheffield’s celebrated industrial past, allowing it to complement the heritage buildings elsewhere on the site.
Independent shops and cafes will help to bring vitality to street level on all sides of the building, and the new Pound Park acts as a 3.5 acre front garden for workers and visitors.

OF SHEFFIELD, FOR SHEFFIELD 

Contemporary new buildings will be inserted into the existing streetscape to create permeable routes through the site, new areas of public realm and the cultural and social anchor of the Heart of the City scheme.  By celebrating and working with elements of the existing fabric that already contributes to the unique vibrancy of the area, we will create a place that is unmistakably ‘of Sheffield’.  

Team

Architect
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Cost Consultant, Project Manager
Turner & Townsend
Landscape Architect
Planit ie
Planning Consultant
Montagu Evans
Stakeholder Engagement
Counter Context
Strategic Development Partner
Queensberry
Structural Enginner
Arup

Awards

2024
British Street Food Awards: Best Food Hall in UK
2024
Insider Media South Yorkshire: Outstanding Development of the Year