Projects
Canopy
Client
Leicester City Council
Location
Leicester
Services Provided
Cost Consultancy, Project Management, Employer's Agent
Description
Canopy is the £10.6m redevelopment of the historic Pilot House (c.1900), delivering 60,000 sq. ft. of Grade A, mixed-use commercial accommodation in Leicester’s city centre. The project has transformed a once-neglected heritage asset into a vibrant workplace hub, empowering the city’s creative and digital sectors with flexible, high-quality spaces tailored to modern business needs. The final scheme provides varied workspaces, meeting and conference facilities, the double-height communal atrium with cafe, sheltered by the glass canopy, is a centrepiece that encourages networking, creativity, and strengthens community engagement.
The project presented significant and complex challenges, including dilapidated buildings, fragmented circulation routes, varying floor levels, and the structural constraints typical of early 20th-century construction. Overcoming these obstacles required close collaboration, technical expertise, and a flexible approach. MDA delivered the Canopy Project, successfully meeting the aspirations of both the Client and building occupiers. MDA’s commitment to managing evolving costs and addressing technical challenges resulted in a facility that has been widely praised.
Winner of Commercial Development of the Year at the East Midlands Business Link Brick Awards 2025
Finalist in the Heritage, Public Sector and Refurbishment/Revitalisation categories at the RICS UK Awards 2026, East Midlands region
Image courtesy of Christopher Terry
