Championing retrofit
HLM is helping to make retrofit the new norm, by celebrating and reclaiming our built heritage.
With each project — and across every HLM specialism — we’re continually refining our retrofit expertise, demonstrating how thoughtful adaptation can create inspiring places with significantly lower environmental impact than demolition and rebuild. In this series we’re sharing our insights and the lessons we’re learning.
A retrofit masterclass — University of Leeds Health Sciences Library
Our thoughtful refurbishment of the University of Leeds Health Sciences Library transformed a gloomy university reading room in a 1970s building. Our interior designers created a new kind of light and bright learning space that champions wellbeing, reconnects students to nature, and supports collaborative learning.
From dark and gloomy to light and bright
The 1970s Worsley Building was structurally sound, but the original reading room had become — understandably — an under-used environment. The dated inward-facing space wasn’t fit-for-purpose for today’s students. It had no natural light and no connection to the outside at all.
So the first thing our team did was create large skylights that fill the library with natural light to support students’ natural circadian rhythms, and create the best environment for nurturing plants.
To create character, improve circulation and bring accessibility up to contemporary standards, we introduced a new entrance and a striking feature staircase.
And to deliver the future-focused learning hub the students told us they needed, we created a fully adaptable scheme with integrated digital tools, and a modular layout that enables students to personalise their environment in a way that suits their learning style.
A retrofit for improved wellbeing
Located in another building, the university’s previous Health Sciences library was an unwelcoming space that focused solely on quiet, individual study. We worked closely with university students and staff to create a different type of space in the new library ‘home base’ where all students would feel welcome.
Wellbeing was our key focus; we embraced biophilic design and biomimicry to create a healthy, calm environment, and strengthen connections to nature within the deep plan space.
We developed a comfortable ‘home room’ style collaborative space, with formal and informal seating areas. In an old IT-suite we developed an innovative technology-enhanced ‘bring your own device’ space with the capability to share and discuss work on larger screens.
These carefully zoned settings accommodate diverse learning styles and allow students to tailor their experience. Seamless digital connectivity, natural materials and abundant daylight combine to create a warm atmosphere that promotes wellbeing, reduces stress, and fosters community.
In the new library, students are happy to spend large amounts of time — for focused individual or collaborative study, online and offline, and to socialise, relax and unwind.
Embedded sustainability
Alongside the significant carbon savings from choosing retrofit over new build, we embedded sustainable design throughout the retrofit to ensure the new library is a benchmark for inclusive, sustainable and future-ready university design.
We specified low-energy lighting and efficient HVAC upgrades, low-impact sustainable materials and finishes. Existing furniture was reused wherever possible, and new furnishings were selected for durability and sustainability.
All together, our interventions create a healthier, more efficient environment while demonstrating how thoughtful refurbishment can deliver lasting social, environmental and economic value.
A benchmark for future development
The University of Leeds Health Sciences Library retrofit delivers far more than a refreshed interior. It is a resilient, bright, flexible and well-connected destination, designed to meet the needs of modern learners.
Working with students and staff, we evolved our ideas into a design guide to support neurodiversity and wellbeing. We trialled this in the library retrofit, refined it through feedback, and we’re proud that our guide will inform future development of the university estate.
By integrating human-centred innovation, adaptability and sustainability, our project sets a new benchmark for higher education retrofit — demonstrating how existing buildings can be transformed to meet the evolving needs of future generations.
