Towering 45 storeys into the sky near the arena in Leeds, Yorkshire's newest and tallest skyscraper claims to be the highest student accommodation block in the world.

When the lift doors open on the 45th floor of Leeds’ newest building, the city below looks so small and the views stretch for miles.

It claims the title of the world’s tallest student tower and Yorkshire’s tallest building, overtaking its 38-storey neighbour, Altus House.

But for general manager Lindsay Hamilton, the challenge is not simply running one of the city’s biggest buildings. She says the focus is on making it feel like a community.

Residents come from across the UK and overseas and are studying at the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett, Leeds Conservatoire and Leeds Arts University.

placeholder image — Sky lounge at Fusion Students Leeds.

The building includes a gym, yoga and pilates studio, photography and recording facilities, a podcast studio, gaming suite, study areas and a 39th-floor social space for around 200 people.

There is also a private dining room, a TV lounge, pool table, table football, electronic darts and retro arcade games.

Events run throughout the week and include yoga, cookery sessions, movie nights and cultural celebrations, with students able to book spaces through the Fusion app.

Lindsay said: “They’re all very interactive with each other.

“Before they even moved in they created group chats on the Fusion app so they could interact and get to know each other.

"We can see who is attending events and reach out to those that aren’t.”

Studio apartment at Fusion Students Leeds. | Submitted

She said around 150 parcels arrive each day for residents and added that remembering everyone’s names is one of her biggest challenges.

“I’m a perfectionist, and I also like to make sure that I know everyone’s faces,” she adds.

Staff carry out hourly checks around the building, with the aim of speaking to students and checking they are safe and well.

The 39th floor has become one of the busiest parts of the tower, and Lindsay said she particularly likes the TV lounge and fine dining room.

“It means students get to bring their family and friends into the building too,” she says.

Practical touches have also been built in. Free tea, coffee and cereal are available to all residents, while pasta, noodles and rice can be taken from a free food store for those who need it.

Laundry and bike hire are included in the rent.

Designing a building of this height was a major challenge for architects. Leeds-based Cunniff Design director Rob Cunniff took over the project in 2022, after planning consent had already been granted.

Fusion Students Leeds. The tallest student accommodation building in the world. | Submitted

One of the biggest changes came after a detailed fire-safety review. The original scheme had a single staircase, but with the Building Safety Act coming into force, a second was added.

That reduced the number of bedrooms from 705 to 633 and altered the balance of the accommodation, leaving the final design split roughly 50/50 between bedrooms and studios.

The redesign also allowed the team to rethink the communal areas. Rather than spreading amenity space between the 38th and 39th floors, it was concentrated on the 39th floor, with further space on the first and second floors.

The tower’s height and narrow footprint also influenced some of the less visible design choices. The windows had to be made so glazing could be fitted from inside the building.

“We wouldn’t want to be dangling huge pieces of glass down the side of the building,” Rob says.

Most maintenance above the lower floors will have to be carried out by abseilers.

Another key decision was the cladding. Instead of the heavier concrete panels used on nearby Altus House, Fusion uses aluminium cladding on a lightweight steel framing system.

Rob describes the finished building as “very crisp”, adding: “It’s just a very simple building, which I think sometimes is the best way.” He previously worked on Sky Plaza, which became the world’s tallest student accommodation building when it opened in Leeds in 2009.

He said Fusion sits alongside Altus House and the 25-storey Opal 3 Tower as part of the area’s changing high-rise skyline. “I think those three buildings work really well together,” he says.

“They give a reference point for miles around.” But he also said there are limits to how high Leeds buildings can go. Construction costs rise sharply once buildings pass 20, 30 and 40 storeys, while lifts, concrete and other structural requirements become more expensive.

“You need very big pockets to build 50 and 60-storey buildings,” he says. “It happens in London but I don’t know if that’s the future for Leeds.”