London鈥檚 South Bank Centre will soon have a northern rival. Four landmark buildings planned for Gateshead Quays are set to turn the area into a cultural quarter.
Gateshead, the borough that brought us the colossal Angel of the North, is now intent on developing a South Bank Centre for Tyneside. Work has started on the first of four landmark cultural and leisure buildings along the south bank of the River Tyne and facing Newcastle鈥檚 newly developed quayside. They are a 拢46m modern art gallery converted out of the former Baltic Flour Mill, a 拢60m concert hall designed by Foster and Partners, a unique swing bridge designed by Chris Wilkinson and a large entertainments centre to be developed by Taylor Woodrow. Total investment in Gateshead Quays is estimated at 拢250m.

Just like Lambeth and Southwark on London鈥檚 south bank, Gateshead plans to cash in on the prosperity of its northern neighbour by enticing well-heeled cultural punters from across the river and further afield. The big difference is that Gateshead has no existing cultural attraction like London鈥檚 South Bank Centre, which was established for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Just the opposite: the town鈥檚 most prominent building is a six-storey car park in stained concrete whose moment of fame came as a backdrop in the Michael Caine thriller Get Carter.

Gateshead is a town crying out for regeneration, and in recent years, the borough council has proved remarkably successful in cashing in on whatever development funds and grants might be available. Now the borough has been earmarked to receive 拢34m from the new regional development agency, One North East.

When it comes to development funds, the real flavour of the decade is culture, courtesy of the National Lottery. Gateshead has hit the lottery jackpot several times, with a total of 拢92m promised by the Arts Council and the Millennium Commission.

The upshot is that Gateshead Quays and the East Gateshead area as a whole are the subject of a 拢470m comprehensive regeneration strategy, which covers 200 ha of land and will include a 700-dwelling urban village, a business park and the upgrading of an athletics stadium to international standard, as well as the cultural quarter. The borough council鈥檚 planning director, Jerry Barford, claims this amounts to the largest regeneration programme in the country.

The cultural quarter on Gateshead Quays will, of course, be the jewel in the crown of the regeneration. Yet Barford claims: 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 start with the big picture for a cultural complex. We did it incrementally.

鈥淲e have a history of involvement in public art that goes back to the 1980s,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hen, in the early 1990s, we saw an opportunity in the empty flour mill to bring forward an imaginative scheme for its conversion to a gallery of contemporary art. At that time, there was no lottery on the horizon. It was an act of faith, but we were eventually awarded 拢34.5m from the Arts Lottery Fund.鈥� Next came the footbridge. 鈥淲e had the idea to tap into Newcastle Quayside, which had become one of the most vibrant leisure areas in the country. We proposed a new footbridge close to the flour mill that would provide a 1 km circuit including the existing low-level swing bridge.鈥� And Foster鈥檚 Music Centre? 鈥淭his is where a bit of luck came in,鈥� admits Barford. 鈥淲e never set out to have a music centre. There was a need for a regional, national, almost international, music resource, but it could have been located anywhere in the Tyneside region. Northern Arts had identified a site in west Newcastle, but when the crunch came, Newcastle City Council felt unable to offer financial support, so they signed up with us.鈥� As a fourth major component of the cultural quarter, Gateshead council came up with the idea of a mixed-use leisure centre with a 20-screen multiplex cinema that would counterbalance the high art of the contemporary art gallery and music centre. A report by property consultant DTZ argued that the private sector would be interested in a leisure development and Taylor Woodrow has been appointed preferred developer.

When it comes to fitting together Gateshead council鈥檚 shopping list of buildings on the ground, however, the lack of a preconceived masterplan begins to show. Unfortunately, the key stretch of the riverfront is occupied by a dingy naval reserve training centre, and there are no plans for its relocation. This means that there will be little opportunity for punters to saunter along the riverside and muse on the remarkable cultural patronage of Gateshead council.

Gateshead Music Centre

This photomontage shows a 拢60m Music Centre designed by Foster and Partners that will be built on the south bank of the River Tyne at Gateshead Quays. It will have a 1650-seat auditorium, a smaller second hall, a regional music school and a music library. Foster鈥檚 design features three billowing 鈥渞ipples鈥� that mirror the curving arch of the neighbouring Tyne Bridge and are reminiscent of the sail-like forms of Sydney Opera House. A foyer benefits from spectacular views of the river through ample glazing. The project awaits final Arts Council approval for a 拢45m grant, and is due for completion in late 2002.

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art

Tyneside鈥檚 answer to London鈥檚 Bankside Tate Gallery and the largest modern art gallery outside the capital is to be converted out of a 1950s flour mill, the last old industrial building left on Gateshead Quays. The competition-winning design by architect Dominic Williams features five galleries, performance space, a cinema and a rooftop restaurant. The building has been stripped out and now awaits reconstruction for completion in autumn 2001. It originally contained a honeycomb of 180 concrete silos, which had to be demolished while the slender external walls were held up by an elaborate temporary steel structure.

Millennium Bridge

This computer-generated image shows the 拢18.6m pedestrian and cycle bridge that will link the new quayside attractions of Newcastle and Gateshead. The graceful, competition-winning design is by Chris Wilkinson Architects and civil engineer Gifford and Partners. The 800-tonne steel bridge will be the first in the world to open and shut on the principle of an eyelid. The bridge swivels on pivots on either bank to bring the upper arch downwards and the pedestrian deck upwards to allow ships to pass below. Completion is set for autumn 2000.

Tyneside