The Northern Design Centre has become the newest icon on the Newcastle Gateshead skyline. You could call it designing for the designers. It’s a tough job but redboxdesigngroup created the scheme to fit perfectly at the heart of the Baltic Business Quarter, a business community of over one million square feet and 5,000 people.
As a strategic educational resource to promote the importance and understanding of good design in the North of England the Northern Design Centre practises what it preaches – exuding a sense of innovation and fun.
The building is draped in a curved stainless steel mesh, through which massive oval windows, wrapped in gold copper panelling, project at angles creating visual and textural interest and drama.
Internally, by contrast, much of the design is deliberately neutral to create a ‘blank canvas’ for the great products, ideas and successes waiting to be designed within.
Key to the business quarter the 60,000 square foot building adopts the central design principles of the area’s masterplan and will include exhibition space, conferencing facilities, training areas workshops and incubator space for start-up design-based firms.
Much of the design is deliberately neutral to create a fitting backdrop for the great products, ideas and successes waiting to be designed within.