Leeds First Direct Arena

Hi Everyone,

One of the most recent buildings designed in Leeds is the Arena, which is situated at the top of clay pit lane. This building has caused a huge steer of opinion not only in the office here at SoVibrant HQ but also the local press. The building and the surrounding public spaces have been designed to take advantage of the fact that it is mainly used during the night/early evening. the design looks great when the facade is lit and this clearly expresses it's function of being an entertainment hub of Leeds. The light splashes out and creates great vistas between it's neighbouring buildings. This is not only spectacular to see but also draws you to the main entrance which faces away from the centre of Leeds.

This ambiance dramatically changes during the day and so does my opinion on the building, in fact I would go far as saying that everything that I like about the building is lost. The architecture losses all its excitement and expression of entertainment during the day. It is also suddenly seen in context, where it is situated in the city centre, which the design completely ignores in both form and function.

Designing buildings which provide such specific functions always leaves designers with issues in regards to the wider context of the city. These buildings only really have a limited range of floor plan designs and thus always only fit on a site in a particular way. So the question is would you ignore the context and create a great object or strive for a contextual master piece.

I would love to hear your opinions on the new arena.

Amric Manku

Strategy & Transformation

www.sovibrant.co.uk