North East Architects Celebrate Opening of £6.8million Business Centre

5th May 2009

AWARD-WINNING architectural and masterplanning practice Browne Smith Baker is celebrating the opening of a new £6.8million business centre for the North East.

The 115-year old practice was commissioned to transform part of Tanfield Lea Business Park in County Durham by designing sought-after office space and business accommodation as part of the region’s continuing growth in enterprise.

Work on Tanfield Lea Business Centre began in January 2008 and has been officially opened by Cllr Eric Turner, former Chairman of Derwentside District Council, who performed the official ceremony and cut the cake with Cllr Alex Watson, former Leader of Derwentside District Council.
The space includes 45 office units, and fully equipped conference and meeting rooms for hire over three floors, all designed to attract young entrepreneurs, business start-ups and expanding companies.

The project to create a flagship building was led by the practice’s Newcastle office and overseen by Associate Director Chris Blackburn, who said: “This was a very exciting project to be able to work on, and we felt it was important to ensure our vision would encourage businesspeople to want Tanfield Business Centre as their address.

“The brief called for an iconic building and we decided to come up with an unusual fan shaped building.  The shape was largely determined by the site, but we created a semi-circular drum which catches the eye from the main road and acts as a magnet to draw people to the main entrance.

“We worked closely with the client, Derwentside District Council, to ensure their objectives were achieved, and are delighted to see that our collective efforts have been worth it.”
The business centre includes a unique combination of offices and workshops, including office units ranging from 150sq ft to 1,700 sq ft, with 24-hour access to all units.

Browne Smith Baker’s commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability measures is reflected in Tanfield Lea Business Centre, which also boasts a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’.

Regional development agency One NorthEast provided £3million of funding for the three-storey centre at Tanfield Lea Business Park near Stanley. The money has been met with a further £2million of capital investment, £1.8million from the Regional Development Fund and additional support from the County Durham Economic Partnership.

Tanfield Lea Business Centre was built by ROK and project managed by Entec.

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