Newcastle Civic Centre by FaulknerBrowns Architects

Newcastle Civic Centre is an architectural icon in the city’s urban landscape. Over the years the Grade II listed building has suffered from its organisational heritage, lack of adaptability and its costly historic building fabric. FaulknerBrowns solution has looked to sensitively resolve these issues.

The big picture moves required sensitive sub-division of the buildings architectural blocks creating new access points, developing a new fire strategy for the building to enable whole blocks of the building to be allocated by partner organisations (in this case HM Courts and Tribunals Service).

This approach required exacting detailing to remove and replace historic finishes – to thread new M&E systems into the building fabric without impacting on the heritage assets.

New interventions such as the entrance required an exceptionally light touch. Quality Portland stone, extra-large porcelain panels and edge to edge glass detailing providing modern insertions into a previously unloved under croft.

The materiality and tone of the building is sympathetic with the existing landscapes. It very much a modern take on the 1960’s Scandinavian inspired civic interiors.

The resulting design delivers an exceptional suite of environments and rejuvenates a previously underperforming building and provide a new front door to the city.