Engineering firm secures contract on £21m creative hub project
Engineering consultancy firm Arup Sheffield, which designed the original Park Hill complex over 60 years ago, has 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 will see the Duke Street block in the city centre turned into a new flagship venue for arts, culture and heritage. The 13-storey structure will include live-work flats and studios for artists, a research institute, an archive, shop, cafe and a permanent home for charity S1 Artspace, designed by architect Carmody Groarke.
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.
Greg Hardie, project director at Arup, said: “Park Hill is a project that is close to all our hearts. It is one of the reasons why we established an office in Sheffield, so we are delighted to be part of Park Hill’s transformation. This new flagship arts venue will help put Sheffield on the map as a top arts and culture destination, both nationally and internationally. Preserving the existing structure will be centre to the project, to give it another 60 years of life, while also creating the new gallery space on the estate.”
Arup will provide structural engineering services and joins architects Carmody Groarke, the designers behind the newly completed V&A members’ room in London.
Carmody Groarke also has close connections with Sheffield as both Project Director, Andy Groarke and Senior Lead Architect Lukas Barry, trained in the School of Architecture in Sheffield, with Andy currently also a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield.
