Hi there, this is Jason from Atelier CPU AI ! I have worked on several residential, mixed-use and commercial projects during my year-out, and I am particularly interested in the relationship between public space and political resistance.

With the significant social and industrial importance of the site, the Tetley has been acting as a cultural hub for exploration and social interaction. Over 120,000 people visit the Tetley every year and we strongly believe every person deserves to explore their cultural potential and has access to creative learning regardless of their background and generation.

Rethinking the use of space of the Tetley’s ground floor means enhancing and creating a more flexible, creative and contemporary environment, for the community to experience art, culture and the brewery history of the Tetley. Better spatial quality and arrangement of the ground floor provides opportunities to support more emerging artists, a platform for holding a variety of free exhibitions, family art workshops and local events.

This project also aims at increasing the revenue that goes to the charity, Project Space Leeds by incorporating the bar, restaurant and shop area and by creating a sociable place of leisure and relaxation that improve the quality of life of the community.

Origin and The Future of The Tetley

The Tetley name represents one of Leeds' oldest brewing dynasties, synonymous with the city for over 200 years. Our site has important social and industrial significance, with the brewery and employees greatly contributing to Leeds' rich history.

Tetley's brewery was founded by Joshua Tetley in 1822, when he bought a brewery on the site for £400. In 1839, he made his son, Francis William a partner, creating Joshua Tetley and Son. Construction of a new brewery began in 1852 and by 1860 Tetley was the largest brewery in the North of England. By 1875, annual beer production had reached 171,500 barrels.

In 1931 the art deco Tetley headquarters building was erected. In April 1960 Tetley's took over Leeds' Melbourne Brewery and in 1961 it merged with Ind Coope of Burton upon Trent and Ansells of Birmingham, forming Allied Breweries. Allied Breweries was the world's largest brewing conglomerate, with the Leeds site employing 1000 people. In the 1980s Tetley's became the world's largest producer of cask ale, and was taken over by Carlsberg in 1998.

The Leeds brewery was closed in 2011 and demolished in 2012, with production contracted out to other UK Carlsberg breweries. Tetley's retains its Leeds connections through the No.3 Pale Ale, brewed again in Leeds and recreated from the 1868 recipe – using the same unique double strain of yeast, with distinctive taste.

The Tetley was refurbished by Chetwoods Architects in 2013 into a unique gallery space, a learning studio, an artist residency studio, offices for creative businesses, a busy Bar & Kitchen and welcoming spaces for meetings and events, from performances and parties, to conferences and meetings.

In 2017, The Tetley becomes part of a large scale redevelopment scheme in South Bank Leeds that supports the expansion of the city core, provides a vital link connecting the city centre and the creative neighbourhood, through to the education district and the communities to the south.

Existing Ground Floor Plan of The Tetley:

Our brief for this project
1. Incorporating bar, restaurant and shop areas to create a vibrant and sociable space.
2. Maintaining a large event space for weddings, exhibitions and events
3. Providing a child-friendly and accessible environment

In order to create a flexible and fluid space, it is important to first understand the spatial relationship between different functions and limitations of the space, especially when large-scale demolition or addition is not possible

Inspiration From Our Guest Speaker: Jee Liu and Jamie Wallace (Wallace Liu)

Wallace Liu has introduced their adaptive reuse project in Chongqing, China, a building that has been created amongst the remaining structures of a former steel factory. We are inspired by them and found some of the ideas and concepts that are relevant or can be applied to our scheme!

For more detail about the building please visit: https://www.archdaily.com/932654/chongqing-industrial-museum-wallaceliu

Questions from students:

Question 01: “Such an exhibition, how do you create a movement order for the users to prevent visitors from getting lost in such big space but at the same they don’t feel restricted in your exhibition space?

Question 02: In this project, did you do anything to strengthen the existing columns to support the new steel structure as the columns seem to be deteriorating and in worst condition?

Question 03: Is there any particular reason for using perforated metal panel for the facade? Why not other material like polycarbonate? Is the facade for ventilation, solar shading or simply aesthetic reason?

Question 04: Our project is at the Tetley in Leeds, a former brewery factory, any suggestion on how to deal with the historical background when you reuse it?

Question 05: There are some industrial and architectural heritage conservation projects that are not successful in China, a country that is heavily influenced by commercialisation, but your design has greatly integrated between two, how do you conserve the historical and cultural values of a building with the prevalent trend of commercialisation?

Day 3: Creating a flexible and fluid space from the perspective of a family:

BA students have come up with several concept drawings, imagining how a family would use the Tetley's ground floor in the future, based on the case studies they have researched. Access, circulation, functions and spatial relationship have been analysed.

Day 6: A step closer to our final design!

After getting feedback from the Tetley, we have decided to combine BA students' brilliant and ambitious ideas! Details are as follows.

1. Adding an extension and sensory garden to the existing building.
2.Refurbishing and utilising the roof of the restaurant
3.Expanding the restaurant, bar and kitchen
4. Adding exhibition space and children play area
5. Designing a flexible event space with removable walls
6. Relocating the storage, exhibition shelf, shop and bar.

Day 9 & 10: Finalizing The Ground Floor Plan of the Tetley

What we have changed?
1. Relocating the reception to the left of the main entrance.
2. Adding a children playground.
3. Creating a more flexible and fluid event space by relocating the storage area and using movable walls to create different journeys for visitors.
4. Replacing the existing bar with shop and small exhibition space
5. Making the David Oluwale Room more transparent and accessible, connecting the restaurant and the lobby.
6. Corporating and expanding the bar and restaurant by constructing a new extension to the Tetley.
7. Designing a sensory garden that consolidate the circulation of the whole building, providing a more relaxing environment for visitors.
8. Utilising the roof of the restaurant as a space for gardening and farming.

Day 9&10: Sensory Garden

The Sensory Garden is located at the front of the Tetley. We have designed a space that incorporates sight, sound, smell, and touch. A winding path offers different routes for visitors to explore. A sensory wall offers a place for children to make noise and play. The space for a mosaic wall or art installation transfers the art from indoors to outdoors. Plants such as lavender, orange blossom and jasmine give the garden a scent that changes through the seasons. Raised planter beds and trees offer height and dimension to the landscape. Throughout the garden there are benches for visitors to relax. Other spaces are more secluded and quieter – where users can reflect in the garden.

Day 9&10: Children Playground, Shop & Small Exhibition

Children Playground: By relocating the reception to the left of the main entrance, there will be more spaces to accommodate a children playground. The main idea is to provide a children-friendly environment as we can foresee more family workshop and activities will be taken place in the Tetley. By making this area one of the focal points of the ground floor, it allows parents/guardians to sit around and monitor their children more easily.

Shop & Small Exhibition: Existing bar area has been replaced by the shop and small exhibition space. For the small exhibition space, there will be temporarily artwork showcasing with additional seatings. For the shop, we have created a space for selling artists' works and different materials for creating art.

Day 9&10: David Oluwale Room

David Oluwale Room: Existing David Oluwale Room is refurbished with a contemporary language, with glazed sliding doors, new furnitures and interior design, connecting the lobby area to the restaurant visually and physically. In general, this room acts as a multi-function room for meeting and dining.

Day 9&10: Event Space

Event Space: In order to accommodate more functions and activities in the future event space, movable walls are used to separate functions in normal days, allowing the Tetley to create a designated journey for visitors. In this scheme, we have provided a screening area, workspace, leisure area and visual deception space. When there are large events like wedding and private party, the partition wall can be detached from the columns and stored in the enlarged storage room.

Day 9&10: Extension Area & Roof Refurbishment

Due to limited space on the ground floor, we have pushed the boundary outward, adding an extension area to the Tetley building. This extension allows expansion of the restaurant and bars, serving as a new entrance, a transition zone that connects the outdoor and indoor, the ground floor and the roof. The existing roof has been utilised as a space for roof gardening and farming, offering an unblocked viewpoint.