BIG has just released images of No 1 Quayside, its latest office building in Newcastle. Designed in collaboration with local studio Xsite Architecture, the project’s curvature is directly inspired by the bridges over the River Tyne and the sloping neighboring hills.
In progress, the building is bordered by major transportation arteries. Located “just off the Quayside”, near the waterway, between the Tyne and Millennium Bridges, the 12-story project will hold 10,000-square-metres of workspace and rooftop gardens. Imagined as a new landmark for the city, No 1 Quayside “reflects the dynamic quality of its surroundings”.
With a curved mass, emphasizing the road’s arc, the architects generate “a slender 13m ribbon-like office space”. Inspired by the architectonic elements of the site, the nearby bridges, and the surrounding landscape, the development takes on a curved and sinuous design. Resembling the serpentine pavilion, the structure blends in its context, extending the urban fabric of the city.
Green roof terraces and private gardens open up the project to its natural context. In fact, “the rooftop acts as a fifth façade” going down to create the garden terraces, “connected by a stair at the western edge serving as a secondary means of fire egress and a linear park”.Commissioned by estate agent Knight Frank, No 1 Quayside replaces an old structure that once housed a nightclub.
- Name: NO. 1 QUAYSIDE
- Program: Commercial
- Status: In Progress
- Size in m2: 10000
- Project type: Commission
- Client: Rob Cameron
- Collaborators: xsite architecture, Knight Frank
- Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
- Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Andreas Klok Pedersen
- Project Leaders: Andy Young, Lauren Connell
- Team: Shengyha (Vic) Huang, Mike Yin
