BCO Award Winners

Ward Robinson Interior Design were proud to be awarded the BCO award for 'Best Refurbished / Recycled Workplace' in this year's BCO Regional Awards. We worked with architects JDDK for the winning entry, The Old Post Office in Newcastle upon Tyne, providing new offices for our client, NBS.

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The Word, South Shields

Ward Robinson Project Management were delighted to be Project Manager for this state-of-the-art cultural venue in South Shields, designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects for Muse Developments.

Despite only opening in October 2016, The Word is already considered an 'iconic' piece of regional architecture. Awards won include an outstanding four RICS North East Awards, including RICS Project of the Year, two RIBA North East Awards, including RIBA Building of the Year, as well as Mixology North16 and LABC Northern awards.

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Staff Exchange

Our first Ward Robinson staff exchange has recently taken place with one of our partner organisations in the Ryder Alliance, Australian architects i2C. One of our interior designers, Louise Roberts, has swapped with Terri Baisley of i2C for 3 months, giving both individuals the chance to use and broaden their skills and experiences.

Meet the team

Following the recent RICS North East ‘Project of the Year’ triumph, the Word has added another award to its impressive collection, this time ‘Building of the Year’ in the RIBA North East Awards 2017.

The Word, designed by FaulknerBrowns architects and project managed by Ward Robinson for Muse Developments, opened its doors to the public in October 2016 and is the centrepiece of South Tyneside Council’s 365 regeneration plan to encourage visitors to the area.

The full list of The Word’s current awards are as follows:
Project of the Year, 2017 RICS Awards, North East
Community Benefit, 2017 RICS Awards, North East
Design through Innovation, 2017 RICS Awards, North East
Tourism & Leisure, 2017 RICS Awards, North East
Building of the Year, RIBA North East Awards 2017
Public Sector Interiors Project of the Year, Mixology North16 Awards
Best Regeneration or Restoration Award, Living North Awards 2016

We were delighted to win a BCO award with JDDK Architects for 'Best Refurbished and Recycled Workplace' for The Old Post Office in Newcastle upon Tyne. Ward Robinson provided the interior design for the recent £5.8 refurbishment of The Old Post Office, the office space of NBS.

A Grade II listed building, The Old Post Office has been occupied for many years by NBS but has not been fit for purpose for some time; due to the office’s subdivision into small tenancies in the 1990s, the team were spread over a small number of offices. NBS’ vision was to bring the whole team together again into a motivating yet flexible environment. 

The careful blending of a modern working environment within an iconic listed building are what makes this project stand out. The 35,000 sq.ft. headquarters now includes a cafe hub, lecture theatre, exhibition space and gym. The use of graphic images around the building helps with wayfinding, adds visual interest and highlights the historic building's identity, also complimenting NBS's brand identity.

NBS chief executive Richard Waterhouse said, “We have an incredible working environment, one of the best in our region. An office space built for our future and a great set of people to fill it.”

The BCO Awards’ main aim is to recognise only the best of developments and set the standard for excellence in office spaces across the UK. The BCO judges noted that the building is now fit for digitally-focused, praising the transformation into an inspiring and exciting environment. The judges were particularly impressed with the reception area, that offers full views of the magnificent double height ground floor office, in addition to the new café area, introduced to provide a central social gathering space and also serve as an alternative collaboration and working zone.

Richard Kauntze, chief executive of the BCO, said: “This year’s awards showcase the eminence and value of new office development in the North of England. The Old Post Office has been afforded a new life through an ingenious refurbishment, making it fit for the digitally focused organisation it now houses. Alongside the other buildings recognised at this year’s awards, The Old Post Office sets a standard of quality for future projects around the UK.”

The Old Post Office, alongside BCO Award winners from other regions, will be competing at the BCO National Awards in October.

We’re pleased to report that The Word is now open!

The Word is a new state-of- the-art cultural venue for in South Shields’ Market Place developed by Muse Developments for South Tyneside Council.  The ambition is for The Word to be the home for North East writing talent. The building acts as a hub of literary and creative resources and inspiration offering the most innovative digital learning experiences, as well as a library of over 70,000 books.

As part of The 365 Master Plan to redevelop South Shields town centre, The Word was an ambitions first phase development.  Designed by Faulkner Brown and constructed by Bowmer and Kirkland, Ward Robinson were Project Manager working for Muse Developments.

After a break of five years we are delighted to announce that we are returning to the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. Our new home is Cooper’s Studio’s, situated in the very heart of the City, a stonesthrow from St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Central Station.

The building has an absolutely fascinating history; built directly on top of the last known section of the Roman Wall as it approached the City, the building was originally created as the first horse repository. It was then converted into a garage in the pioneering days of the motor car until falling into disrepair. The dawn of the 21st Century saw the latest transformation into award winning studio accommodation. See more of this project …

Once again Ward Robinson has been commissioned by Terry Laybourne to re- design his flagship Restaurant on Newcastle’s Quayside. Ward Robinson has worked with the 21 Hospitality Group for over 20 years on a number of successful projects such as Caffe Vivo and Broad Chare.

21 Hospitality Group decided it was time to rebrand their renowned restaurant Cafe 21 to 21 and wanted a new look to match.

The new interior offers the diners a warm yet modern environment with the use of fabrics from Osborne and Little, luxurious leathers from Andrew Muirhead and beautiful wall panels from Sahco.

Choosing the correct lighting for a project is a critical element. For 21 we chose to combine modern Tom Dixon lighting and the amazing ethical Pet Lamp lighting to give it a modern twist. The Pet Lamp lights each one unique, are created by a project with local artisans from Eperara Siapidara in Colombia, using recycled materials and traditional basket weaving techniques and were a perfect choice for 21.

We have designed bespoke furniture and commissioned art work which helps to create an inviting atmosphere which customer new and old will hopefully enjoy. 

For more information go to:

www.21hospitality.com

www.petlamp.org

In 2015, Ward Robinson is proud to be celebrating 10 years of transforming the interiors of Northcote Hotel from a six bedroom humble abode to the 26 bedroom luxury destination it is today.

Following 18 months of extensive renovations to the restaurant, cocktail bar, lounges, Louis Roederer Private Dining Rooms as well as additional bedrooms, Northcote has become one of the leading properties in the UK with a Michelin star and many accolades to its name.

The final phase of work concluded at Christmas with the opening of 8 luxury suites in the new Garden Lodge built within the grounds of the hotel.

 ‘The wow factor – that’s what we wanted to bring to Northcote with our design update,’ says Managing Director Craig Bancroft. Describing the new cocktail lounge he adds ‘previously it was all brown leather like a gentleman’s club; now it’s like a high-end London cocktail bar’. The interior of the new restaurant exudes luxurious yet relaxed style however was designed to be a backdrop for Nigel Haworth’s exquisite food which was the inspiration.

Ward Robinson continues to celebrate this month dining at Northcote’s 15th annual festival ‘Obsession’ where world class chefs and sommeliers prepare the best food and wine from local producers and growers. Visit www.northcoteobsession.com to read more about the culinary magic performed at this unique event.

Thursday evening saw the Sage Gateshead play host to the North East England Tourism awards. Whilst attention focused on The Broad Chare, a partnership between Terry Laybourne and Live Theatre and featured in an earlier edition, some of our more established schemes also came to the fore. Hotel of the Year was awarded to Jesmond Dene House, again originally conceived in collaboration with the Laybournes, with Langley Castle Hotel a close second.

Opened back in 2005, Jesmond Dene House was an ambitious project to turn a much neglected grade II manor house, once belonging to Lord Armstrong, into Newcastle's leading luxury hotel. Much emphasis was placed on balancing the building's rich character with high quality contemporary furniture and materials.

Built slightly earlier, during the reign of Edward III, Langley Castle is set in 10 acres of South Northumberland. Ward Robinson were instrumental in the sympathetic refurbishment of a number of bedrooms within the grade I listed building, along with a number of bedrooms in the conversion of the stable block. Careful consideration was given to ensure a cohesive design vocabulary ran throughout.

All three projects demonstrate our company ethos perfectly; providing considered, commercially viable solutions which endure the test of time.

Rebranded North to mark their recent 150th anniversary, this leading marine liability insurer has been a regular and valued client of Ward Robinson since our inception. We have provided full design and implementation packages throughout several iterations of the company’s meteoric growth, culminating in the latest and most ambitious expansion plan – a 35% projected increase in office space requirements, initiated in 2010, which would service the business’s 10-year expansion path. Rejecting the option of moving to a new site, and severing ties to the river on which the company had been founded, a bold series of extensions were conceived, with significant areas of the existing building being stripped back to shell.

The outcome was a dramatically transformed environment which was light, spacious, yet also stimulating. Limestone flooring, glass, walnut, contemporary light fittings and splashes of the company’s signature red accent all came together to create a space which, as well as looking impressive, also promoted interaction amongst North colleagues.

This contemporary, high-quality BCO-award-winning scheme accurately reflected North’s core values of service, strength and quality in a way that we were confident would stand the test of time.

www.nepia.com

Welcome to our second newsletter we give you an insight into The Broad Chare, the latest refurbishment for the 21 Hospitality group.  We hope you enjoy and we'd love to hear your thoughts. When chef and restaurateur Terry Laybourne had the vision to turn a disused warehouse on Newcastle's quayside into a bustling city pub, he rekindled our longstanding relationship to help transform his dream into a reality.  The challenge was to create a modern interpretation of a traditional food-led pub, and Terry had a very clear vision about what he wanted-something which looked like it had been part of the community for generations.

And in Terry's words..."This was a hugely demanding project as the space we had to work with was, in truth, really too small for what we needed, which meant that we had to focus closely on the detail rather than on the bigger picture.  The building is also Grade II listed property so we were hugely limited in terms of what we could alter or modify, although the retention of its original features has really added to the charm of the place."

 "Yet what began as simply a rough sketch in my head has evolved into something that I am truly proud of.  The brief given to Ward Robinson was extremely tough - we wanted to create a space that was traditional yet with a unique and contemporary feel... and in my opinion, we've absolutely nailed it!"