the roman quarter

brown + company architects, York - the roman quarter. A modern multi-story building with curved architecture, large glass windows, and outdoor green spaces on balconies, situated on a busy city street.
brown + company architects, York - the roman quarter. The interior of a roman attraction museum lobby with a green vertical garden wall, a staircase leading to an upper level, large glass windows letting in natural light

A landmark development within York City Centre which will regenerate a key part of the city, be highly sustainable and improve the immediate and wider public realm. 

The scheme will become a new destination for business and leisure, creating 153 apartments, an apart hotel, Grade A office and a world class Roman visitor attraction which will be the centrepiece of the development.

Team: Neil Brown, Rob Miller

Similar projects: coney street riverside, the baltic quarter, st paul’s street, the tiltworks

Cityscape with historic and modern buildings along a river, reflecting in calm water, under a partly cloudy sky.
Urban park scene with children and adults walking and biking, surrounded by modern buildings, trees, and a stone wall.
A detailed architectural line drawing of a modern urban development with three large, curved buildings featuring rooftop green spaces, surrounded by trees, roads, and smaller structures.
Diagram of a multi-level building with an exploded view showing basement level, ground floor, first floor, and upper floors, along with street and road labels.

  • Located in York’s Conservation Area, the site consisted of 5 existing buildings, including Northern House, a designated detractor. The brief was to create a new landmark mixed-use development including creation of a new world class visitor attraction EBORACUM.

  • The northern end of the site is located adjacent to the former Roman road which led to the ancient colonia of Eboracum. The redevelopment of the site provides a unique opportunity for the largest archaeological dig since coppergate within York, along with the reinstatement of the former roman road of Tanner Street and the creation of a new Roman visitor attraction run by YAT.

  • The scheme counteracts the negative utilitarian and monolithic characteristics of the area through the introduction of two distinct fluid buildings which are shaped by light and views. Central to the development is a triple glazed height atrium forming an impressive tree filled entrance to the attraction, EBORACUM.

    The scheme includes a significant amount of new public realm, designed in collaboration with reform landscape architects which reinstates a former Roman Road and creates outlook performance spaces for the attraction and local artists.