University of Leeds – School of Media and Communications
The School of Media and Communication is one of the top departments in the country for the study of communication, media and culture. With teaching and research strengths across a wide range of communication subjects, from popular culture to political communication, journalism studies to digital media, they offer degrees that emphasise choice, opportunity and the development of analytical and creative skills.
The School had identified a need to provide improved, independent study facilities within the department, along with reconfigured academic office accommodation. Following some initial design investigations, GSSArchitecture put forward a proposal for the innovative re-use of an existing basement space that provided the necessary study space, and which also included a high quality ‘Creative Edit Suite’ with design flair for use by students on any programme. This has now become a real “go to” destination for the students.
Technical challenges associated with the project included access restrictions to the existing basement that were overcome through the introduction of a space-efficient platform lift, whilst the constrained headroom was mitigated through clever use of colour in the exposed soffits, including the integration of streamlined and coordinated exposed services.
