The Junction

Location

Leeds

Main contractor

Galliford Try

Sub contractor

Cara Brickwork

Architects

Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher

Products

Facing Bricks

Overview

The Junction is a landmark build-to-rent development located on the edge of Leeds city centre, delivering 665 apartments across five residential buildings alongside extensive resident amenities and commercial space. Central to the scheme is the regeneration of the Grade II listed Monk Bridge Viaduct, which has been transformed into Yorkshire's first elevated urban park, reconnecting a long-disused piece of Victorian infrastructure with the surrounding city.

Taylor Maxwell supplied Ibstock Marlborough Stock facing bricks for the development, working alongside Galliford Try, Cara Brickwork and Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher to deliver a façade that responds to the location's industrial heritage while creating a contemporary identity for one of Leeds' most significant regeneration projects.

Concept

Occupying a former industrial site between the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the historic Monk Bridge Viaduct, The Junction forms part of the continued regeneration of the city's western gateway. Rather than viewing the Victorian viaduct as a constraint, the design team embraced it as the defining feature of the development, transforming the 300-metre-long structure into a landscaped public park that connects residents with new cafés, retail space and the wider Wellington Place neighbourhood.

Designed by Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher, the five residential buildings vary in height, stepping up towards the city centre to create a distinctive skyline while maintaining strong visual connections with the historic viaduct below. The architecture combines contemporary detailing with a carefully considered material palette that reflects the character of the surrounding Victorian masonry, ensuring the new development sits comfortably within its historic context.

Taylor Maxwell supplied brickwork plays a central role in achieving this vision. Ibstock Marlborough Stock bricks were selected for their warm red and brown tones, providing a façade that complements the colour and texture of the existing stone viaduct while giving the buildings a timeless, robust appearance. The natural variation within the brickwork adds depth and character across the elevations, reinforcing the architectural ambition to create a development that feels both contemporary and rooted in its surroundings.

Completion

The successful delivery of The Junction demonstrates how thoughtful material selection and collaborative working can support ambitious regeneration while respecting a site's historic character.

The development has received widespread recognition across the property sector, including being shortlisted for Best Regeneration Project at the 2024 Inside Housing Development Awards, acknowledging its high-quality design, placemaking and resident experience. The transformation of the Monk Bridge Viaduct into Yorkshire's first elevated urban park has also been widely celebrated as a standout example of heritage-led regeneration, creating a vibrant new destination that reconnects this historic structure with the city.

By combining carefully selected materials with considered architectural design, The Junction establishes a lasting addition to Leeds' evolving skyline while showcasing the important role quality brickwork plays in creating places that are both distinctive and enduring.