Leeds Beckett architecture and graphic design students celebrate grand opening of St Chad's Broomfield Cricket Pavilion

The pavilion is the result of a remarkable collaboration between the Leeds School of Arts and the local cricket club, bringing together students from Architecture and Graphic Design to design and help build a new clubhouse and community café/bar from the ground up.

St Chad's Broomfield Cricket Club has been part of the Headingley community for 140 years, moving to its current site in 1922. By 2015, its old pavilion no longer met cricket association standards and was beginning to fall into disrepair.

With limited funds and no design expertise of its own, the club turned to Leeds Beckett's Abstract Machine Studio within the School of Architecture for help. The university's Graphics course later joined the project, developing a graphic language inspired by cricket and the club that was woven into the fabric of the building itself.

The design team chose a self-build approach to keep costs down and to involve as much of the community as possible in the construction. Specialist contractors were brought in only for foundations, roofing and glazing, while the superstructure used an insulated timber cassette system manufactured off-site by BlokBuild in Hull. St Chad's was the first project in the UK to use this system in a self-build setting, with the structure erected by students from the Abstract Machine Studio and club members, alongside a visiting team from WeCanMake who were preparing for a similar self-build social housing venture in Bristol. The walls and roof were completed in just two working weeks.

The fit-out continued this hands-on approach: LBU Graphics students fitted out the clubroom. The final cedar cladding was fitted by architecture students, club members and corporate volunteer groups working side by side.

The grand opening on Sunday 14 June 2026 brought together club members, volunteers, funders, councillors, architects, students and university staff to celebrate the achievement, with an afternoon and evening of live entertainment, food and family activities at the ground. Leeds School of Arts Dean Oliver Bray and Leeds Beckett Vice Chancellor Peter Slee, a keen cricket fan, both attended to mark the occasion.

Beyond cricket, the new pavilion and café have already become a hub for the wider community, hosting coffee mornings, youth activities and mental health drop-ins, alongside coaching and volunteering opportunities. The club has reported increased footfall from non-cricket visitors, growing youth participation and new partnerships with local schools and charities since the space opened.

Vlad Todica, who graduated with a BA (Hons) Architecture in 2025, worked on the project. Vlad, who is now a Part 1 Architectural Assistant at GWP Architecture in Leeds, said: “The best thing about being involved in the St. Chad's project was the opportunity to gain hands-on experience on site. It was especially meaningful as it was my first real project, and I was fortunate to have this opportunity in my first year of studying architecture. As a first-year student, opportunities to work on live projects and visit construction sites are rare, so it gave me valuable early insight into the profession.

“I also learned a lot about construction and the importance of safety on-site. Despite having no previous construction experience, we were able to assemble the pavilion in a short amount of time, which gave me valuable practical experience.”