A student apartment development built on the site of the famous Gatecrasher Nightclub in Sheffield features a turntable-like feature in it’s courtyard as a reference to the musical history of the site.
Designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects, the scheme consists of 9 blocks of varying sizes, which step around the building’s elevations and surround the large landscaped courtyard.
Manchester based landscape architecture firm DEP produced the courtyard design, in which a raised circular patio rises from a rectangular planted bed.
Two-tone, red and white brickwork is carefully detailed around window openings, and double-height glazing at ground floor level connects the scheme with the streetscape.
Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand which opened the famous Gatecrasher One venue in Sheffield in 1996. Tragically, the building was fatally damaged by fire in 2007 and demolition was the only option for the revered venue.
Although short-lived, the nightclub became a mecca for electronic and trance music enthusiasts worldwide. The architects paid tribute to the significance of the site with their design.
The four blocks of the student accommodation scheme have been named after musical terms – Opus, Mezzo, Vivo and Accent – as a further nod to the nightclub.
Cartwright Pickard is a national firm, with practices in Manchester and Leeds, as well as London. They have designed a number of successful residential schemes in Sheffield, including the Sellers Wheel development, and the iQuarter tower which overlooks the River Don.