Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
Arup designed the original Park Hill complex over 60 years ago and has now been appointed to transform a block in the council estate into a £21m creative hub, including Sheffield's largest art gallery.
Park Hill Art Space, a project led by S1 Artspace, will see the 70,000 sqft Duke Street block of the Park Hill estate transformed into a new flagship venue for arts, culture and heritage. Designed by architect Carmody Groarke, the 13-storey structure will include one of the largest contemporary art galleries in the North of England, as well as artist studios, a research institute, heritage archive, live/work flats, production workshops, shop, café, auditorium and dedicated learning suite
Arup designed the original Park Hill complex which started on site in 1957 and it was hailed as one of the most ambitious inner city housing schemes of its time. Park Hill is regarded as a major piece of Brutalist architecture, which resulted in the entire site – comprising of 995 flats, four pubs and 31 shops - becoming Grade-II* listed in 1998. Arup worked on the 2,300 dwellings scheme from 1953-61, providing civil and structural engineering services, including an in-depth investigation into the abandoned coal workings situated beneath the site.
