Inclusive design at The Catalyst, Newcastle

The latest building to be completed at Newcastle Helix, The Catalyst hosts a suite of bespoke facilities and flexible office spaces. This ground-breaking, striking facility is the new home of the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing and the National Innovation Centre for Data – and is now fulfilling its promise as a centre for innovation, as well as being a stunning contribution to the Newcastle urban landscape.

Design North were asked to create the interior design for the building, with a focus on inclusivity and accessibility.

The design for the 100,000 sq ft space was developed through extensive collaboration with multiple stakeholders and consultees, including Newcastle University, the two National Innovation Centres, local and national businesses, commercial organisations, specialist organisations like the RNIB, the Thomas Pocklington Trust, the Alzheimer’s Society and other research organisations, such as Stirling University’s Dementia Services Development Centre.

‘The architect’s concept for the site was innovative – it used a small footprint at the base of the building, and gradually got bigger as it went upwards, like an up-ended cone, achieving the overall gross internal area through its volume,’ Design North’s Scott Stewart tells us. ‘The other feature is that it is effectively two buildings in one. The ground and first floor areas are public, and everything from the second floor upwards is essentially private. Yet the spaces have a consistency in terms of design, colour, and materiality. Our interior design worked with, and built on, the architectural concept, a testament to the success of the collaboration between the design team.’

The building hosts a suite of bespoke facilities and a range of flexible office space, which will enable the creation of a tightly coupled and supportive ecosystem between the Innovation Centres and commercial organisations here, with a focus on either delivering new insights through data analytics or delivering new products and services, which help us to age well, for longer.

The awarding of BREEAM Outstanding communicates not only a strong message about the outstanding design and construction elements of the building, but also acts as a flagship to the University’s and City’s commitment to the climate emergency and the targets to achieve zero carbon well ahead of the Government’s target of 2050.

Sustainability has been held at the core of the development’s ethos. The contractor, subcontractor and design team worked in coordination to deliver a building with performance above specification to support the client to operate an estate with minimised reliance on grid-energy, reduced maintenance and replacement requirements and enhanced energy performance. Collaboratively, BREEAM Outstanding was achieved at no additional cost to the client or stakeholder group.

Stakeholder engagement was key to the success of this project with many sessions to present options, test ideas and debate solutions. We’re told that the word ‘compromise’ was banned; the solutions had to be agreed by all parties and not to the detriment of anyone. Everything was to be carefully considered to ensure we were not only complying with regulations but also enhancing the design to be better than recommended.

We ask Design North’s Jacqui Martin to tell us more about the design process here. ‘I had history with the client and the estates team,’ she says. ‘We were appointed after a small competitive bid process to assist the client in developing the interior design including the furniture selection, working along side the incumbent design team. The university was keen not to add cost at this stage of the project, so were nervous about bringing in another designer.  Our first task was to review the interior finishes (flooring, walls, ceilings) as quickly as possible to incorporate any changes of specification. Whilst the walls were fixed, there were still opportunities to work with the end-users to develop and improve on space planning and design, by showing them lots of options. 3D visualisation was key and using lots of samples to get across design intent.

‘There were three main stakeholders. The main brief was to create a modern workplace and public space with inclusivity and collaboration at its core. The National Innovation Centre for Ageing wanted to ensure the needs of an ageing population were captured where possible, making sure the design considered ageing conditions such as dementia, as the invite participation in market research from organisations such as Age UK and Voice North.

Design North implemented a ‘dementia considerate’ rather than ‘dementia compliant’ policy throughout the design process as the team had to look at all aspects of ageing – not just dementia. This was particularly true in the selection of furniture for the public area. A selection of different styles of furniture for the café, meeting and social areas were tested, with people asked questions relating to the seat height, arms, materiality and the results compiled to aid the final selection. The key was variety – an eclectic mix of chairs of different seat heights, upholstered, non-upholstered, with and without arms. Fabrics and finishes were then selected to create a warm and cosy feel, akin to a hospitality environment.

In addition to the interior design, Design North developed a way-finding and sign strategy for the building. This was because the sign system usually used by Newcastle University did not fit with the aspirations of the client – and to ensure signs were dementia-friendly.

Finally, we ask Design North about their personal favourite elements of the space. Jacqui’s favourite? ‘The view from the fourth floor to the second floor. I love looking down over the handrail, which was designed by the architects to encourage leaning. It gives you a real chance to observe collaboration in action.’

And Scott’s? ‘The boardroom – for obvious reasons.’ Mic drop.