The new façade of Merrion House, an office building in Leeds city centre, is starting to take shape as the final concrete panel is removed.

BAM Construction is continuing the installation of the building’s glazing and cladding.

The 170,000 sq ft office space is owned together with the Town Centre Securities Plc and Leeds City Council as part of a partnership between public and private sectors.

Earlier this year, BAM Construction was appointed to deliver the project.

Project Manager at BAM, Simon Sutcliffe, commented: “Deconstructing the ten-storey building, before recladding and refurbishing is a huge task.

“There were 705 concrete panels to strip off the building, each weighing between two and four tonnes, before modern cladding could be installed. Months of meticulous planning are now paying off and it is great to see the new look taking shape”.

Two tower cranes have been in place to lift panels from the building, one strip at a time, before the new glazing and curtain walling were installed using mast climbers.

The concrete panels have been taken away to a quarry in Bramhope, Leeds, where they have had the steel reinforcement extracted and recycled before the remaining concrete is crushed and certified for reuse for other construction projects.

Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive of Town Centre Securities, commented: “Real progress is being made with the redevelopment and the revitalised Merrion House will be another key component to the northern side of the city centre, complementing the nearby Merrion Centre and Arena Quarter, and supporting the continued economic and cultural growth of the area”.

Merrion House, which was originally constructed for use by Leeds City Council in 1973, is currently undergoing significant refurbishment in order for the council to return with all public facing services under one roof.

This is part of a plan to reduce the number of council buildings in the city centre from 17 to just four.