Kings Tower

We were approached in 2019 to advise on a regeneration site in central Sheffield, adjacent to the Castle Quarter. It was identified as a tall building opportunity from the outset, however it wasn’t clear at that stage just how tall the scheme should be. We assessed the potential visibility of the site, and tested different massing options using Augmented Reality software (with built in verification) to enable us to explore and discuss the best approach with stakeholders. We also studied a wide range of regional tall buildings of the approximate scale we were considering, with detailed analysis of the structure and height/width ratios of these successful precedents.

This process led to a ‘Tall Building Brief’ which was agreed with Sheffield City Council and established an agreed set of rules to guide detailed designs.

Having successfully worked with Hodder + Partners on numerous similar regeneration projects we recommended their services. The first sketch produced by Stephen combined creativity, passion and commercial awareness and this seamlessly evolved into a planning application for a building of 36 storeys that was permitted within 16 weeks. The Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment simply recorded the process the whole team followed leading to a fabulous new landmark for this regenerating part of Sheffield City Centre.