Description

• Engineering interest: it has a unique and innovative design incorporating a Vierendeel truss structural arrangement that dispenses with the need for columns, instead suspending the building slabs from deep beams in the penthouse and cantilevered subframes;
• Architectural interest: it is a striking building with a highly distinctive character derived in part from its external form reflecting its structural system, and from the soft reflection in the mirrored Corning glass cladding;
• Accessibility: this was integral to the building's design and can be seen in the provision of an external pedestrian deck (incorporated to connect to Newcastle Corporation's elevated walkway system, which was added later), and the arrangement of accommodation on the lower floors of the building; a specific requirement for many of the occupants;
• Architects: it was designed by Ryder & Yates, one of the most important post-war regional firms in England, and represents their first major building in Newcastle city centre and one of their most prominent works;
• Degree of survival: the exterior is largely unaltered, and whilst the interior is plain and has undergone significant alteration in places, it retains its main stair, which is strongly reminiscent of the work of Berthold Lubetkin, one of Ryder & Yates' main influences and their former employer;
• Social context: it was the first purpose-built building to house multiple community service organisations under a single roof, demonstrating the growing force of the ‘third sector’ in the 1970s....."

• Owner

  Historic England

• Source

  Local (Co-Curate)

• License

  What does this mean? Unknown license check permission to reuse

• Further information

  Link: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1419279
  Resource type: Text/Website
  Added by: Peter Smith
  Last modified: 3 years, 2 months ago
  Viewed: 313 times
  Picture Taken: Unknown

• Co-Curate tags