RICS Awards Success

Today's xsite is Adrian...

It was a good night for our Toffee Factory project at Newcastle Civic Centre on Friday where the RICS North East Renaissance Awards were announced.

Entered for three awards the building, which provides ‘move on’ office space for creative sector businesses in Newcastle’s Ouseburn, triumphed in the Regeneration category and was commended in both the Design and Innovation and the Commercial categories. To top the night off the building then took the overall Project of the Year award.      

It’s always nice to get recognition for the hard work that a team puts into making a project happen so congratulations to everyone involved, you know who you are!

Article from The Journal

Toffee Factory Website

The Ouseburn Coffee Company

Today's xsite is Adrian...

Coffee is a subject pretty close to our hearts at xsite, and in the last couple of months we've been lucky enough to be able to combine our hot beverage of choice with some actual work. Last month saw the opening of Newcastle's latest top coffee spot, 9Bar on Grey Street and in a further pursuit of that caffeine buzz we have now welcomed The Ouseburn Coffee Company into space at our Foundry Lane Studios HQ.

A nip and a tuck to our basement workshop space has seen it converted into a roastery for OCC, an independent artisan coffee retailer who now roast their specially sourced green bean coffee on site. Look out for their product around town and if you’re passing you might even be able to score an espresso at our back door, sure beats S****ucks.

http://ouseburncoffee.wordpress.com/

9Bar Coffee

Today's xsite is Adrian...

The much anticipated second installment of our recent collaboration with Gusto UK and Reluctant Hero at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle is now up and running. 9Bar is a compact little, contemporary, Italian influenced cafe - a sort of Bar Italia for Grey Street.

The small unit on the South side of the Theatre's famous portico was stripped back to expose the base stone and brick wall finishes and a terrazzo floor. The fit out then gave centre stage to Reluctant Hero's graphic work and the brand they created for 9Bar Coffee, the result is the visual equivalent of a double espresso.

Click image to enlarge...

Redcar Hub Steelwork

Today's xsite is Nita...

Steelwork for the Redcar Hub is now progressing at a pace on site - this lot was up in about 10 days! Steelwork should be complete in the next 3 weeks, this will be followed by flooring and blockwork on site.

Lord Mayor's Design Awards

Today's xsite is Mal...

xsite's Georgian House Extension in the West End was the winner of the 'Residential' category award at the 2011 Newcastle Lord Mayor's Design Awards last night!

Click on image to expand...

Toffee Factory Practical Completion

Today's xsite is Mal...

The Toffee Factory is three days from practical completion.   All that remains are external light fittings, the tar spray chip finish to the courtyard and a few internal snags.  The high gloss resin reception floor and corten reception desk remain under wraps until handover on Friday.  We look forward to experiencing the building as users when we hold our practice conference there in a couple of weeks!

Ouseburn Open Studios 2011

Today's xsite is Anna...

This years Ouseburn Open Studios has come round once again, this year taking place on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th of November, from 10am till 5pm each day. We will be opening our doors here at Foundry Lane Studios to let you see what everyone based in our building gets up to.

xsite are running tours of 'The Incidental Ouseburn', walking tours of the valley taking in art, architecture and the everyday in 'The Valley'... There will be a tour on both the Saturday and the Sunday leaving from Foundry Lane Studios at 12.30pm. If you work out how to use that new fandangled QR code stuff before coming along there will be additional elements of fun for you on the tour... Please email us to book a place at info@xsitearchitecture.co.uk

As well as touring and projecting our latest work around the building we will be cooking up another 'Pop-up Kitchen'. There will be cakes, biscuits and sweet treats for sale as well as Onion and Gruyere Tarts, tasty Leek Potato and Parsley Soup and Spanish Chorizo Stew to warm you up...

Amy Dover, xsite's latest Creative Resident, is transforming part of the building into a secret room, a hidden world of beast, birds and creatures, with lots of new works for sale. If you don't know her work have a look on her website, it is really beautiful...

Jill Tate, an architectural photographer, will be showing new work, with large and small scale prints and cards for sale. Alex Charrington will be showing new prints and studies from his studio space, as well as new web and graphics work from Morph Creative. Bubblegum Vegas will also be having a stall selling tattoo and 50s inspired jewellery and accessories... With lots going on all around our building and all the other venues around the Ouseburn it would be great to see you over the course of the weekend.

You can find out more about everything going on here on the Ouseburn Open Studios website.

Waitrose Jesmond Newcastle

Today's xsite is Adrian...

The new xsite designed store for Waitrose in Jesmond, Newcastle opened its doors to the public yesterday. The completion of the 8,000sqft plus store with office and warehousing on its upper floors finally sees the old Osborne Road Garage site brought back into use. We think it’s a piece of contemporary retail architecture which gets on well with its neighbours, while the arrival of a blue chip national retailer in Jesmond’s neighbourhood shopping area should be a real asset to the City.

Changemakers

Today's xsite is Nita...

xsite are pleased to be part of the Changemakers programme, which links businesses with young people between the ages of 17 and 25 to undertake joint projects over a 6 month time frame. Our project will focus on the Ouseburn, young people and regeneration. Project ideas so far include a chill out space, temporary art work, workshops with local young people and an arts festival.

Our changemaker is Alysia Todd, 17, who attends Newcastle College. She is passionate about drawing and would like to use this project to help other young people tap into their creative side.

Last week Alysia and myself attended a Changemakers residential in Chester with around 15 other young people and their representatives within the host organisations. It took me well out of my comfort zone (I hadn’t done role play since high school!) but was a lot of fun and a fantastic opportunity to meet some really interesting people.

For more information on Changemakers go to the link below and for more information on our Changemakers project watch this space!

www.changemakers.org.uk

Pasqualinos

Today's xsite is Adrian...

Last month saw the opening of xsite’s latest project for the De Giorgi family’s Gusto Group. Having worked with Joe, Aldo and Cristina to design and deliver some of Newcastle’s best loved bars and restaurants over the last 10 years – Intermezzo, Popolo, Secco and Alvino’s – the latest to open is Pasqualinos in the City’s newly refurbished Theatre Royal. While the theatre itself has been returned to it’s original Edwardian splendour, the former box office on Market Street has been transformed into a contemporary Italian bar and kitchen, looking to break the mould again for food and drink in the city.

The interior is a collaboration between the client, xsite and Reluctant Hero, the Newcastle based creative studio responsible for the Pasqualinos brand. A retro-industrial, mid-century-Italian, cut and paste aesthetic runs throughout, from the vintage metal seats and galvanised steel cargo lights through to Reluctant Hero’s layered up ceiling artwork and the leather banquette and booth seating.  

Showing admirable commitment to the cause team xsite have already made it our business to get fully acquainted with the food and cocktail menus - never off duty us!   

Waitrose coming soon...

Today's xsite is Adrian...

The xsite designed Waitrose store on Osborne Road in Jesmond, Newcastle is well on its way to completion and is due to open its doors on 2nd November. The prominent site, a former petrol station, had been derelict for a number of years and its redevelopment has been eagerly anticipated. The building will house offices and warehousing on its upper floors and at street level a convenient, neighborhood, kinda baby-sized Waitrose store.

We can’t wait.       

Invisible Architectures Festival

Today's xsite is Nita...

The Invisible Architectures Festival, curated by Will Schrimshaw, was held on 9-11 September. xsite designed and constructed the meeting point for the festival, a bright red stall which could be easily erected and taken down each day. xsite have worked with Will on the project since he joined us for a Creative Residency earlier in 2011.

Invisible Architectures featured a number of local and international artists, brought together by Will, and focused on the non-visual side of Newcastle’s city centre: sound, ants, textures and more... The events were free and open to the public.  I participated in the Rhythymanalysis tour on the Saturday afternoon, a fascinating introduction to the concept of the ‘sound walk’. Over 2 hours we mapped the soundscape of Old Eldon Square, studied the way people moved through spaces and popped a balloon in an underpass to see how sound echoed within the space...

Overall the festival was a huge success and we hope to see it happening again in the future- bigger and better!

http://subliminalcity.co.uk/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1803521@N22/pool/