Leeds Metropolitan University Architecture students have designed a classroom for Old Chapel rehearsal studios, home to the Kaiser Chiefs, to encourage community engagement between the studios and young people in the Holbeck region.

The classroom will be used for: children to learn to play an instrument; for hiring out as meeting room space; for teaching and activities to enable Old Chapel to give something back to the community.

Mark Hubbard, who owns Old Chapel studios, contacted Bauman Lyons Architects to kick start his idea to build a classroom onto the existing rehearsal studios to be used for future projects in Holbeck.  The Architect team then approached Simon Warren, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Leeds Metropolitan, to get students involved in designing a sustainable, cost-effective and attractive new building.

The second and third year students worked in teams as part of their coursework for the BA (Hons) Architecture course and a panel of judges, including Guy Smith from Bauman Lyons and Mark Hubbard, chose one particular design to take forward, which used shipping containers and, after research, proved to be a very cost-effective solution.

Simon commented: “The School of Architecture began running live projects over two years ago. There are enormous benefits for our students and the communities we engage with. Importantly, students have the opportunity to work with the building users.  The projects are real; this means that they will be built, bringing interesting challenges that prepare students for their careers after Leeds Met. I find that our students are really enthusiastic and enjoy this aspect of their course. It also looks good on a CV, especially in the current economic climate where any edge might make the difference between getting a job or not.”

The teams of students winning both first and second place in the design competition are now continuing to work with Bauman Lyons to develop the project to the planning application stage.

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