Marshall’s Mill
Evolution not Revolution
Small steps to deliver a grand vision
SIMON BAKER
PRACTICING ARCHITECT, RIBA, ARB UK
‘EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION’
Context
Leeds is the fourth largest city in England with reputedly the second largest financial and legal sector
outside of London. It is a successful city. Leeds, like many core cities, benefitted from the previous
government’s strategy of promoting quality, cohesive and holistic design through the work of the
Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward, and almost uniquely a civic architect, John
Thorpe, and an urban design team within the council. The skyline of Leeds has developed over the
last decade, but few of the large grand visions and master plans for the centre have materialised.
A successful regeneration area is Holbeck Urban Village. The area is south of Leeds railway station,
the river and the canal. It was at the heart of the industrial city boasting factories foundries and mills.
Several buildings have survived from this period and the Round Foundry development is recognised as
an exemplar of regeneration, mixing new buildings with refurbishment, creating offices, homes,
restaurants and cafes. It isn’t surprising, therefore, that the area and buildings are popular with creative
businesses and the original aspiration to create a creative quarter has all but materialised.
Marshall’s Mill is a significant and imposing seven storey red brick Victorian mill with a cast iron
structure and towering chimney. Built by John Marshall in 1791-2, it was less glamorous than its
neighbour, Temple Works (a homage to the brilliance of the Egyptians) and it was a symbol of
Marshall’s confidence that he was a pioneer of the industrial revolution creating a new world, an
empire in a similar way to the Egyptians. Both buildings were at the forefront of technology. Temple
works created (at that time) the world’s largest covered space, naturally lit from above with an
ambient temperature sustained by an insulated green roof, rain water collection and under-floor
heating. The adjacent Mill was built to weave the flax created in the works. Marshall’s Mill doesn’t
exhibit the same exuberant narrative as the works but it too was a technical achievement in its day.
The brick and glass walls achieve a solid-to-opening ratio of 45%, with the outer skin supported on a
cast iron structure. This provides the Mill with a fantastic interior quality. The narrow floors are
flooded with light from all sides and the stone flag floors are supported by brick vaults. Marshall’s
achievement is not immediately apparent as we expect post industrial buildings of this character to be
of a certain quality but we must realize that this building was one of the first of a kind built decades
before those that we are familiar with today. Both Marshall’s Mill and Temple Works are recognized
by English Heritage for their historical importance.
The grade two listed Mill and its grounds sit on the opposite side of Marshall Street to the Round
Foundry and were not part of the extensive regeneration investment made just after the Millennium.
The Mill was refurbished for commercial office use in the early nineties. The refurbishment works
effectively sought to cover up the idiosyncrasies of the Mill, to sanitise its interior, and create an office
space that, as much as possible, could emulate its Grade A new build counterparts in the centre of
town. With the benefit of ample parking and easy access to the centre, and transport, the Mill has been
successful as an office destination, providing reasonably large spaces at cost effective rents. This
relative success meant that little needed to be done but this is a strategy that is reliant on there being a
buoyant market and a demand for office space.
Figure 1. Marshalls Mill
The market is no longer the same. With the economic crisis, a change of government, the bonfire of
the ‘quangos’ and businesses reviewing their operations and efficiencies the demand for commercial
office space in Leeds and across the country has changed. The Mill has been reasonably well used
since its refurbishment and up to 2009 was 80% let. There has been a steady decline, with businesses
moving out, either through retraction, relocation or closure, no new lettings and very few enquiries. In
May 2010 the Mill could only boast 11% occupancy. The Mill has never charged top-end rents for its
space but neither was it the cheapest space available. An option would have been to reduce rents in an
effort to secure existing tenants and attract new ones. The problem with this approach is that it
undermines value.
The Mill was bought in 2003 through a pension fund and managed by a development company. The
company’s interest is in protecting value, and ideally enhancing assets, and creating wealth. The new
owners not only acquired the Mill but also the adjacent Round Foundry. Their perspective was longterm rather than short-term. Their purchase demonstrated an investment of confidence in the creative
quarter. What could they, therefore, do to prevent loss of value, protect rents and secure new tenants?
The decision was made to invest. If the Mill was to capitalise on the success of the creative mediafocused area of the adjacent Round Foundry, still attractive to the market and securing good rents, then
the nature, type and size of space provided at the Mill needed to complement its neighbour by offering
something different and distinct. The address, place and space needed to reflect these creative
industries - businesses which are known to be focused on the individual needs of their staff who work
in a relaxed atmoshphere rather than in more formal spaces as their corporate counterparts do.
Strategy
Having identified that these new and growing businesses were following the trend to be more focused
on the well being of their staff, the design team reviewed the development of the Mill from a user
perspective and considered what makes people feel good about their place of work.
The coalition government had already identified the importance of mental health and well being in the
population in their White Paper, Healthy Lives Healthy Peoplei and from this the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) was asked to develop a set of indicators that measured national well being. The
ONS’s research indicated that those individuals with a better sense of well being and happiness were
inclined to be more involved in social and civic activities, behaved in an environmentally conscious
way, and had stronger relationships and were more productive at work.
The strength of this research created a positive strategy for the government based on what to do rather
than what not to do and importantly that this was within the individual’s control. Further to this
academic research the new Economic Foundation was commissioned to develop a mental health
equivalent of the popular and well known message that people should eat five portions of fruit and
vegetables a day in order to maintain good physical health. The result was five ways to well being.
The architects for the refurbishment works to the Mill adopted the five principles to explore a different
design approach. They addressed the design in such a way that it responded to the individual and
shifted the perception away from the anonymity associated with the Mill as depicted in Lowry’s work
where the individual is reduced to the single black silhouette over-shadowed by industry
Five ways to well being
Connect…
‘With the people around you.
With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours.
At home, work, school or in your local community.
Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them.
Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.’
The Mill has been hemmed in - its inhabitants municipalised by the security barrier created by the
external walls and blandness of design. Huge iron utilitarian gates defend the grounds from intruders
but are left open rendering their protection useless and un-administered despite the prevalence of
cameras which now monitor the approach.
This is not a welcoming, warm or inviting place. The message is to keep away. The design team
wanted to reverse this perception. They wanted to transform the perception of the Mill, to create an
address, to make it inviting, accessible and hospitable. To create an environment at the curtelage of the
Mill that was attractive and one in which people might linger rather than run. Their inclination was to
open the Mill up. The Mill’s entrance is concealed from the street so the concept was to transform the
street frontage, take down the walls and replace them with a forest of trees. The forest would be
temporary; an intervention which would occupy the plots of the building’s past and of those planned
for in the future (when there is sufficient confidence in the market to invest in the wider development
master plan). This forest would become mythical, a ghost of buildings past and a promise for the
future, a landscape into which anything is possible. The concept has evolved to create a new and
welcoming forecourt to the Mill, one which links it physically and aesthetically with the investment
and the custodial care already associated with the adjacent Round Foundry.
Figure 2. A new approach to the Mill
Be active…
‘Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance.
Exercising makes you feel good.
Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and
fitness’
The inner courtyard is filled with cars. It provides nothing more than a slightly shorter walk from the
car to the door. Having created a front garden to connect with the surrounding area and re-defined the
streetscape, in order to create equilibrium the architects identified the opportunity to transform the
courtyard into an activity playground and a garden for the occupants of the Mill as well as a visual
amenity. External gantry fire escapes were elevated beyond the functional to become ‘decked’ breakout areas (balconies) for each of the overlooking floors. This in turn reinforced the connectivity of the
external areas to the internal space in the Mill. As individuals break away from their desk activity
they are able to use their personal mobiles whilst standing on the balcony which overlooks a giant
’Suduko’ puzzle set by the centre manager, or to watch ‘creatives’ playing basketball. The ethos of the
design approach is to move beyond function towards a celebration of possibility, to engage with the
building users as you would residents who have a sense of ownership and pride. In addition to the
courtyard garden, made up of raised lawns, seating areas and a ping-pong game, the Mill complex
includes a refurbished out building which provides gym facilities and exercise classes.
Figure 3. Courtyard Playground
Take notice…
‘Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual.
Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you
are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware
of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting
on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.’
The refurbishment is principally about the creation of new office suites of varying sizes throughout the
Mill but it is the in-between spaces, the non-revenue generating spaces that are able to add social value
and create distinction. It is the in-between bits that are able to change, reflecting the diversity of the
new inhabitants, and the new businesses. Throughout the refurbishment, the architects have been
careful not to eradicate past decisions and interventions to the Mill. They have exposed and
uncovered parts of the history of the Mill and celebrated these. The previous renovations have been
removed, repaired and revised but care has been taken not to impose a singular style and monopolise
the spaces. The idiosyncrasy of the Mill has been celebrated by, the diversity of its inhabitants and the
complexity of its history which makes the Mill what it is today. Throughout the design, the architects
have looked for opportunities to express these narratives either by, for example, exposing cast iron
doors or allowing the occupants to overtly express their company graphics and the characteristics of
their staff and business. They are allowing the environment to change. The success of this approach is
reliant on a change in management philosophy. The management company needs to be creative and to
become proactively involved rather than policing and sterile.
Figure 4. Revealing History
Keep learning…
‘Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course.
Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an
instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will
enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as
well as being fun.’
By concentrating on the in-between spaces and the opportunities for the occupants of the Mill to come
together and share, the architects hope to develop a sense of community where individuals meet and
engage in dialogue; possibly developing new business-to-business relationships and also to learn about
other businesses and how their experiences or services may benefit each other. The reception and
lobby areas are not the expected cold corporate environments filled with ‘Miesien’ furniture that never
get sat on. They are more akin to a café, with tables and chairs frequently in use, with magazines and
book exchanges littering surfaces; they are places to be occupied by people waiting for friends and
exchanging information with other occupiers, and with the management. To further this sense of
blurring the definition of the office as a closed environment, the architects look to introduce shared
facilities, meeting rooms, that can be used by the businesses but that can also accommodate space for
‘learning lunches’ or evening classes. When full, the Mill will accommodate c. 800 people. This
number could be recognised as a village community. The building will be able to provide facilities to
engage, entertain and educate this wider civil society as well as providing a distinct office space.
Figure 5. The reception
Give…
‘Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile.
Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in.
Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community
can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people
around you.’
Figure 6. Leeds Met Graphic Students
It isn’t a natural instinct for an architect to give away part of a commission but at the Mill the
architects identified an area of the design which could benefit from the contribution of others and
which would add strength and diversity to the creative input. They could have developed their own
ideas for the graphic interventions but instead they chose to write the creative brief and to invite the
final year graphics students studying at Leeds Metropolitan University to submit their ideas. This
offered benefits all round for the client, the University and the students i.e. the client makes a
financial contribution to the University, the students, if successful, have a live commission; the design
team are able to engage in a broader dialogue of design and become involved with the curation and
development of the ideas coming from the students at the University. The architects are able to witness
the enthusiasm of the students and tutors and the flow of collective ideas. The client is rewarded
beyond their financial investment; they are no longer commissioning a piece of work but are being
philanthropic. The client benefits by being able to choose from a range of original ideas and the
successful ones are implemented by the University who, in this case, are able to use their resources
and expertise to manufacture the art works. This is a cyclical and rewarding process that fully
engages and enthuses all involved.
Results
The result of utilising the five ways to well being to influence the design decisions is to create a
proposal for an area and a building with a unique character, which is derivative of its history, its
location, its occupants and its uses. The Mill is able to express its layers of history, not be preserved
in a static state but allowed to develop and reflect the changing nature of its users. This project isn’t
anywhere; it is in Holbeck, Leeds.
The project doesn’t mimic what has been defined previously by a conventional market but seeks to
stand on its own and appeal to those in search of something slightly less ordinary. The project
develops and enhances a local asset that already exists. It creates a sense of place that has character
and presents itself as a living historyii. The architects want the building/project to be a reflection of its
users and to respond to their requirements. They want the occupants to shape and influence their
environment so that they recognise, understand and are familiar with it, so that they feel at ease.
The new creative management team recognises their responsibility to engage the village (building)
community with activities and events. Further planned activities for 2012 include a drive-in cinema,
linking the Mill residents with, the National Green Film Festival sponsored by Friends of the
Environment. The architects and client intend to create an active and dynamic environment one, in
which they and the City of Leeds can participate; a place which can be shaped and influenced by those
who use it very like people do in their own homes avoiding being alienated and disenfranchised.
Figure 7. Pop Up Cinema
Through the development of the Mill and the adoption of the ‘five ways to well being’ the architects
have tried to create an evolving situation. They are no longer trying to determine a grand master plan
which is a prescription for the future which can only be delivered when the right economic conditions
exist, and is in direct response to a single perspective. The architects are developing an evolution for
the building and incrementally moving towards the delivery of a long-term vision. This approach
allows for flexibility, re-interpretation, change and the development of original ideas, and provides an
impetus for change. Flexibility enables new ideas to be explored.
The regeneration of the wider area hasn’t been as rapid as previously hoped and demolished buildings,
vacant plots now vie for use as surface car parks. The architects are in discussion with the City
Council about the possibility of using these spare plots to create a new landscape of urban forests
which could potentially fuel a biomass boiler for the Mill and other adjacent buildings -a community
energy centre. These ideas might prove unattainable but because the master plan is no longer a set of
rigid ideas, however wild, alternative opportunities can be pursued.
Conclusion
The role of the architect and designer has the potential to progress. This emerging role relies on
establishing the right sort of relationship with the client, where both architect / designer are able to
secure their involvement with the evolution of ideas and the search for possibilities, as opposed to the
description and translation of an already formulated solution - a further iteration of a well established
tradition in designing and planning space.
Hans Venhuizen , in his book ‘Game Urbanism: a manual for cultural spatial planning’iii presents the
idea of a new role, the plan master or concept manager. This is a role which moves away from the
draughts person defining a solution for creative innovators and directors orchestrating a dialogue of
the possible with the client, investor and stakeholders and then helping to make this a reality. With
this conceptual approach there is a greater emphasis on the process and a willingness to be actively
involved as a participant.
In adopting the ‘five ways to well being’ for the development of the Mill the architects have been
able to use each of the five themes to independently analyse all of the design ideas presented by all
those involved in the project. Everyone’s ideas are valid and need to be tested and explored.
Everyone involved with the Mill buildings and its surroundings are travelling together on a journey in
pursuit of change and development, they have an intention but are not beholden to a fixed outcome.
The architects now have the opportunity to become creative directors involved with the imaginative
management of an asset and in this way to maintain creativity and conceptual continuity so that other
small investments can multiply and eventually deliver whole-scale conceptual change which with
hindsight could be described as visionary.
ENDNOTES
i
Aked, J. and Thompson, S (2008), Five Ways to Well Being (NHS Confederation, nef)
Cox, E., Squires, P., Ryan-Collins, J. and Potts, R (2010), Re-imaging the High Street, The 2010 Clone Town
Report, (nef)
iii
Venhuizen, H. (2010), Game Urbanism - Manual for Cultural Spatial Planning pp.29–37 (Valiz, Amsterdam)
ii