Ben Johnson Interiors were delighted to win the project to complete the dilapidations and CAT A refurbishment of Centura, 76 Wellington Street, Leeds, working with project team Bluesky Design, Savills Building Surveyors, and RPWP M&E Consultants on behalf of property developer Hillview Group. The scope of works for the refit project included a full strip-out, all new M&E, redecoration, a mixture of vinyl and carpet flooring, kitchen, lighting, toilets, staircase, and some partition and structural works. Works included a strip-out and CAT A fit-out, incorporating all new M&E, windows, kitchen, ceilings, flooring, fire-rated partitions, staircase, and toilets.

When designing and refurbishing a legacy building to Grade A CAT A standard, it is essential to consider sustainability, as future occupiers increasingly look to relocate to buildings that align with their carbon-neutral strategies.

It is also important to consider the added value you are providing as a landlord through communal social spaces, which should support people with neurodiversity as part of the overall offering. The Hillview Group’s phased refurbishment of Centura, 76 Wellington Street, meets sustainability criteria through careful ESG product selection and the full strip-out and redesign of its M&E and building management systems. The scheme continues the pre-existing reception space, which includes communal social areas with bespoke meeting booths and coffee-making facilities. These offer a choice of social spaces with acoustic treatments to control noise transfer—an important feature for neurodiverse users. As the building was occupied and situated on Wellington Street, a busy city-centre location, our delivery team had to coordinate deliveries around existing occupiers and council restrictions, as well as accommodate out-of-hours working.

When completing a CAT A refurbishment project, it is essential to have a strong demolition team. The scope of works included stripping out the suspended ceilings, exposing the soffit, and installing all new exposed M&E. Refurbishment projects often reveal that soffits were not finished to a high standard during the original build, as suspended ceilings would have concealed them. Our team therefore had to retouch and refurbish the soffit to an acceptable finish once exposed.

Every scheme has its complexities. At Centura, 76 Wellington Street, this included the installation of a fire-rated 60-minute Crittall glass screen in the lobby area. Due to the weight of the glass, careful coordination and the installation of a bespoke structural steel element were required, which had to be fitted within critical dimensions. The scheme also included all new M&E, which was largely straightforward, apart from the need to modify an existing window to install a louvre on the building’s rear elevation.

Design features included the formation of a coffered ceiling in the lobby with integrated LED lighting and concrete-effect walls. A floating ceiling raft system was installed within the open-plan area, creating visual interest while maintaining exposed services and ceiling height. The lighting scheme was coordinated around the raft installation, with the main open-plan linear lighting positioned alongside the rafts. Complementary feature lights and recessed LED spotlights completed the scheme.

The works also involved upgrading the ground-floor toilets in keeping with the newly refurbished first-floor facilities. The scope included new toilet cubicles, WCs and sinks, tiling, lighting, and finishing touches such as copper feature mirrors, ironmongery, and graphics. Ben Johnson Interiors were also asked to re-carpet and redecorate the existing staircase from the second to the ground floor as part of our works.