AJ NewBridge
Newcastle University academic wins Architects' Journal award
Published on: 21 June 2024
Jack Mutton, Lecturer in Architecture at Newcastle University, has won awards for his work to transform a derelict office block into artists’ studios and community spaces.
Retrofitting
His work retrofitting the disused five storey Shieldfield Centre for The NewBridge Project which supports artists curators and local communities, won this year’s Architect’s Journal Small Projects Sustainability Prize. Earlier this year, the redevelopment also won the Adaptive Reuse Award at Newcastle City Councils Lord Mayor’s Design Awards.
Jack is Director of Topo Architects which led the £63k redesign of the 1960s building with funding support provided from Newcastle University’s Institute for Creative Arts Practice.
“It’s great to see the work that we did for The NewBridge Project recognised in awards at both a national and local level,” says Jack. “We worked with an extremely limited budget to transform an unused building, creating new spaces for both the artistic and broader community.”
Part of the community
Since The NewBridge Project moved into the premises in 2022, it has become a key part of the community, hosting a memory café for people with dementia, coffee mornings, a broad range of exhibitions, and has shown how creative enterprise can help revitalise an area.
“The project sets a precedent for the redevelopment of seemingly low quality, vacant buildings; demonstrating that genuine cultural and social value can be delivered for a low cost,” adds Jack.
The initial phases of the project, which were completed during 2022-2023, saw the creation of studios for more than 120 artists with workshops for ceramics, print and wood, a bookshop, events space, gallery, flexible workspaces and an office. Later stages of work have continued to further develop the spaces and work is now progressing on developing a dedicated space for the Youth Programme.
