Daphne Steele Building Tour by HCS in May 2025

Around 30 members of Huddersfield Civic Society were treated to a fascinating talk and tour of the University of Huddersfield’s Daphne Steele Building.

Led by Tim Hosker the University’s Director of Estates and Facilities, the talk and tour on Thursday, May 15, was arranged by HCS President Bernard Ainsworth, a member of both the University Council and its Estates Committee during the inception and construction of this prominent centerpiece to Huddersfield’s Station to Stadium corridor.

The passerby cannot fail to notice this impressive modern rakish building which draws your eye as you travel by foot or car along Southgate, Leeds Road or Northumberland Street from the railway station.

The six-storey building gives fabulous views of the town, features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for the university’s midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, operating department practice, paramedic science, physiotherapy, podiatry and speech and language therapy courses.

Construction at the seven-acre site on Southgate began in early 2023. The university has planning permission for up to seven buildings for NHIC with construction of the next, the Emily Siddon Building, now underway with completion estimated for Christmas 2025.

This second building will host a Community Diagnostic Centre, part of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, providing local patients with a range of diagnostic tests including MRI and CT scans. The third building planned for the rear of Crown House is to be a multi-storey car park.

The building has been designed and constructed to meet the WELL Platinum Standard. Every component of the interior has been carefully considered in order to support this using biophilic design (relating to the human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature) including plenty of plants, multiple green walls and timber finishes.

The interior helps to improve people’s health and comfort as they use the space and the building genuinely makes you feel extremely welcome and at ease, as if in a reassuring embrace.

Carpets use a weaving technology that actively traps fine particles from the air and finishes around the building use natural materials and high recycled content to contribute to the university’s environmental sustainability aspirations.

To create a sense of arrival at each distinct area, variations in colour schemes are used which has been reflected through internal finishes. Social and breakout spaces are lively and stimulating, physio and sports areas use navy blue, podiatry and orthotics use fresh greens and each stair core is also assigned a colour.

Walking around the building provides a genuinely uplifting experience and Huddersfield Civic Society is grateful for the opportunity to do so.

The cafe on the ground floor is open to the public so why not call round, have a look and get a taste of what a Platinum WELL building feels like for yourself.

Written by Howard Smith from HCS.