The Urban Rooms at the Farrell Centre

They represent one of Sir Terry Farrell's key recommendations of the government review he undertook into the UK’s built environment in 2013. The Urban Rooms are designed to engage visitors in shaping the future of Newcastle and Tyneside. They serve as informative and participatory spaces, focusing on three core themes—Plan, Build, and Participate. In the "Plan" room, attention centers on Farrell's Newcastle City Masterplan, featuring a central model surrounded by maps spanning the city's evolution from the sixteenth century to the present. The "Build" room delves into architectural and planning process, using the centre as a case study. Installations and activities spotlight planning's role in urban change, from the magnetic wall to the foam skyline. "Participate" invites visitors to reflect on city usage and understanding through interactive displays like "Mapping Tyneside," and "The People's Plinth," showcasing objects with city stories. "Greetings from Tyneside" prompts self-reflection on how we perceive and describe the city. The Urban Rooms host live programs—talks, workshops, and community forums—providing a platform for diverse ideas about Tyneside's future and city-making. The design language mimics temporary structures representing city evolution, with scaffolding, recycled plastic stormboard (usually used for hoardings), and sandbags forming furniture. 3D-printed oriel windows add an ornamental twist and are exact copies of the oriels on the corner of the grade II listed Centre. CAN continued the language of the temporary by using various hazard stripe colours to guide and inform visitors—orange and white for participatory elements, yellow and black for timelines, and blue and white marking the Rosetta stone interpretation panels in broken plasterboard. This exhibition is a living entity, evolving alongside the city it represents, fostering continual engagement and dialogue in shaping the urban landscape with people of all ages.