No8 St Paul’s Street in Leeds undergoes grade A revamp
Led by York-based architect brown + co, the eight-storey, 1960s building is owned and occupied by national insurance broker W Denis, which uses three of the floors as its headquarters.
Bought from Schroders for an undisclosed sum, W Denis gained permission for the refurbishment in 2023. The existing building was extended by a storey and out to the rear, increasing the office floor space by 30% to 25,000 sq ft.
Internally, a new reception area, shared meeting spaces, two new floors, a roof garden, and flexible office accommodation were installed.
As well as brown + co, the project team consisted of contractor MLC and interior design firm RuCreative.
Rob Miller of brown + company said: “It is fair to say that when W Denis bought the building, it was ageing, underutilised, and unloved. But, given its prominent position in the heart of Leeds’ professional core, only five minutes from Leeds Station, it had tremendous potential.”
Kathryn Thew, speaking on behalf of W Denis, commented: “The finished development has completely transformed the appearance and functionality of the building, creating an environment that is welcoming, efficient, and fit for the future.
“We have received numerous positive comments from staff, tenants, and visitors.”
Miller continued: “One of our prime concerns when redesigning and upgrading 8 St Paul’s Street was sustainability. This is crucial when transforming an existing building into a state-of-the-art, hi-spec modern office. So, we retained embodied carbon on site, thermally improved the building, reused parts of the external 1960s façade in the mezzanine interior, and facilitated energy generation on site, all helping to achieve a BREEAM excellent score, which is high for an existing building.
“We were also focussed on creating a contemporary office environment, including breakout spaces, a gym, a yoga studio, rooftop garden, a bar area, formal and informal meeting spaces and large kitchens, which all help with collaborative working and creating a health work-life
balance and employee wellbeing.
“We also did a lot of work on improving the daylight quality within the building, hence the new facade design, and introduced lots of planting throughout the building.”
