Sleeperz Newcastle

Built adjacent to the Grade II listed viaduct of Newcastle station the building extends into the arches below track-level to provide 1000 m² of lettable commercial units on the ground floor.

The six-storey hotel lines the gentle arc of Westgate Road with a fully glazed fifth-floor setback and a roof that climbs eastwards from the point where it levels with its western neighbour, to its projection over the viewing terrace at its apex facing the railway tracks.

Local ashlar Blaxter Sandstone-clad bookends frame the north and south facades. Between these bookends, the north facade absorbs daylight through floor-to-ceiling glass. Ceramic-lined glass infills placed between twin aluminium mullion cover caps mask the cross-walls between hotel rooms, interrupted by continuous spandrel zones, which stretch between the bookends.

The south facade is more opaque to contend with large solar heat loads and noise from the railway. The stone cladding at its east end screens a staircase, twin rooms and family rooms, whereas its western, cranked end is clad in aluminium diamond shingles with blue-grey zinc finish, with dark grey window pods which poke through, aligning with the railway line to enjoy the quayside views to the east.