National Glass Centre
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Glass factory and visitor centre by the River Wear with an extensive glazed roof that visitors can walk on
The National Glass Centre was the first cultural building to open in the UK funded by a Capital Arts Lottery award. A competition initiated by Tyne and Wear Development Corporation set out to find a design that would celebrate the heritage of glass making in Sunderland and support the development of new glass production for the 21st century.
The building was designed to emerge from the land rather than imposing upon it. Upon entering on the first floor and looking at the building from the road access, all that is visible are the canopies, twin ventilation towers and chimneys of the factory.
From the riverside entrance the building is accessed via the ground floor, as the construction is set into the river bank, creating a double height ceiling above the restaurant and shop with balconies overlooking the river.
The roof is made from industrial glass, and allows a complete view through the building height to the ground floor.
Data
- Begun: Jan 1997
- Completed: Mar 1998
- Floor area: 6,057m2
- Sector: Arts and culture
- Total cost: £7.2M
- Funding: National Lottery, ERDF, Arts Council
- Address: Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL, United Kingdom
Professional Team
- Architect: Gollifer Langston Architects
- Project architects: Andy Gollifer, Mark Langston
- Client: Tyne and Wear Development Corporation, National Glass Centre
- Project manager: Turner and Townsend
- Associate Architect: Ryder Architecture
- Main contractor: Kvaerner
- Quantity surveyor: Gardiner and Theobald
- Structural engineer: Techniker Ltd
- M&E engineer: Battle McCarthy
- Fire consultant: Arup Fire
- Exhibition designer: PLB Design
- Landscape architect: Liversedge
- Landscape architect: Wardell Armstrong
- Access consultant: Burdus Access Management
- Modelmaker: Naoki Shimura
- Clerk of Works: Stuart McTaggart
- M&E engineer: R W Gregory and Partners
- Facade engineer: Arup
Suppliers
- Glass Roof: Space Decks
- Concrete structure: Leven Bridge Construction and Civil Engineering
- Joinery and steelwork: Kvaerner
- Brickwork: Malborough Brickwork