Team chosen for Farrell's Leeds masterplan

An eclectic mix of architects has been chosen to deliver Terry Farrell's £800 million retail-led Eastgate masterplan in Leeds city centre.

Developers Hammerson and Town Centre Securities have picked Heatherwick Studio, John McAslan + Partners, Benoy, Los Angeles-based Jerde Partnership and landscape architect Gross.Max to work on the 140,000m2 regeneration scheme.

The practices will work alongside Acme Space, a practice formed last year by two former Foreign Office Architects, which saw off Carmody Groarke and Kengo Kuma to land the flagship 26,000m2 John Lewis store at the heart of the development (pictured below).

More than 70 practices were originally considered by the developers, following an 'international search' which kicked-off at the global property trade show MIPIM last year.

Last March, Hammerson took the unusual step of openly inviting architects from around the globe to enter into talks with its development team at the fair in Cannes and vie for some of the prize plots.

Once complete, the project will create 100 shops, 600 homes and a restaurant district. The Jerde Partnership and Benoy are to design around 84,000m2 of retail space along a revitalised Templar Street, while Heatherwick Studio will mastermind the Harewood Courts boutique quarter.

McAslan will restore the listed buildings, which fall under the larger masterplan, including a terrace designed by Reginald Blomfield, who also remodelled London's Regent Street.

Leeds City Council's civic architect John Thorp, who helped to select the six winners, said: 'A competitive process has led to the selection of a group of practices, who I believe will bring individuality to the design of this city-centre project.'