Chapel FM Community Arts Centre

Heads Together Productions is a non-profit community arts organisation which acquired an old Methodist chapel in Seacroft to create the first ever dedicated arts centre in East Leeds. LEDA began working alongside architect Matt Strong in 2018, to carry out a sustainability assessment based on the One Planet Living Framework; this was used to support Chapel FM’s successful funding bid.

In addition to providing a studio home for the community-led radio station East Leeds FM, the centre is designed to be flexible to accommodate a wide variety of activities, workshops and performances, and includes an accessible community café and welcoming reception space. Accessibility is key to accommodate the diverse range of audiences and participants and to create a truly inclusive facility. Dimmable smart lighting has been used throughout, along with individually controlled induction loops for hearing aids, and emergency lighting and fire systems which take into account hearing and vision impaired visitors.

As well as a ground source heat pump to replace the gas boiler system, the scheme includes an acoustic mixed mode ventilation system in the hall, which works silently and passively during performances and events, and can be boosted with extract fans to provide rapid cooling between performances or during breaks. This is a much more economical solution than using mechanical cooling, which would have required additional plant and equipment as well as associated maintenance.

Client:	Chapel FM/Heads Together Productions Ltd
Services Provided	Sustainability assessment, sustainable building services design
Dates:	2018 to 2020
Contract Value:	£600,000 approx
Technologies and Unique Features:	Assessment based on One Planet Living Framework, Ground source heat pump, acoustic mixed mode ventilation, fully accessible, performance lighting