BDP, which worked on early masterplanning, will design a scheme to more than double the museum’s conference and events space at Leeds Dock.
The Royal Armouries has appointed architecture and design practice BDP to take its £100m Waterfront Development at Leeds Dock through the next detailed design stages. The Royal Armouries Leeds scheme will be built around a new 3,500 square metre exhibition and events hall on the Tiltyard site beside the museum, with a planning application due to go to Leeds City Council in 2027.
Why This Matters For Leeds
Naming an architect moves the Waterfront Development from ambition to a design programme that can be tested at planning. Leeds conference organisers and the hospitality firms around Leeds Dock get a clearer sense of when larger venue capacity could arrive. With UKREiiF leaving after 2027, a bigger hall gives the city a stronger platform to win replacement events.
How BDP won the Waterfront brief
BDP won the brief through a competitive process involving a number of UK architecture practices, having already worked on the project’s initial masterplanning phases. BDP has had a Leeds studio since 2019, at Platform on New Station Street, headed by architect director Vicky Casey.
Nat Edwards, Director General of the Royal Armouries Museum, said BDP stood out for the way it had put together a team suited to the site, from experts in designing for horses to specialists in storytelling in public spaces.
“I’m confident that BDP get the Royal Armouries, they get Leeds Dock and they get what the project means for the city,” he said.
Vicky Casey said the museum’s significance to the regeneration of Leeds felt particularly poignant at this point in the city’s development. “This appointment means a huge amount to BDP and we are immensely proud to be part of the next chapter for this incredible venue,” she said.
“Finding the right design partner for this project is a crucial step forward towards delivering a development that’s going to help transform the South Bank of Leeds and bring new jobs and new opportunities for a lot of people.”
Nat Edwards, Director General, Royal Armouries Museum
Planned events space at Royal Armouries Leeds
The new hall will more than double the existing facilities, creating over 8,000 square metres of conference and events space. The development will also give the museum a purpose-built home for immersive experiences. The Royal Armouries says the jousting displays now staged on the Tiltyard will gain improved opportunities in the redeveloped site.
The existing conference facilities, the museum and New Dock Hall will all stay open during the work. The plans, costed at more than £100m, are in the final stages of options appraisal.
The scheme follows the museum’s purchase of the freehold of its Leeds Dock site for £11.69m in 2025, funded by a government-backed loan through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. In September the Royal Armouries set out the next steps for the Waterfront plan, saying the project team would be named within weeks.
The Royal Armouries Leeds site already hosts large events including UKREiiF, which is due to leave for Liverpool after its 2027 edition.
- Learn more about Royal Armouries: royalarmouries.org
Sources: BDP Leeds studio page; Royal Armouries announcement, Royal Armouries to Own Waterfront Site, May 2025
