Centre Square Building 1

Centre Square in Middlesbrough, England, has a problem: its importance for the city and the significance of the nearby buildings is just not obvious. The size of the plaza behind the historic city hall and the variety of architectural styles there engenders feelings of disorientation. Neighbouring civic buildings and the post-modernist law court building are located on one side; on the other, the asymmetrical form of the Institute of Modern Art, which complements the remains of a historic building. Between all of these buildings, the square unravels into a small strip of greenery. Change was on the cards. And so the city of Middlesbrough created a master plan to improve the definition of the square, fill in gaps and enhance the architecture by adding a number of buildings. The aim was not to emphasize these new buildings as a group, but to mark out the square as the city centre and delineate its boundaries. The Centre Square Building 1 is the first building project to be completed on the square and, as far as urban development is concerned, it effortlessly fulfils its task of closing a gap and demarcating the square. Extending from one of the main streets to the park, the narrow oblong volume fits neatly between council offices and the law court. It forms a clear linear entity and has an entrance at both narrow ends of the building. Architecturally, the challenge was greater. The architects achieved a coherent image with the building’s post-modernist neighbours by creating a brick façade incorporating an arcade walkway and by fine-tuning the proportion of the storey heights - a low-ceilinged ground floor and a compact block of upper floors. The large overhang of the projecting roof above the recessed top storey ties in with the museum opposite. While the building respects the scale and material of the surrounding buildings, it is also contemporary and autonomous thanks to light-coloured brickwork, glossy gold ALUCOBOND® elements and the slender profiles in the glass façade. In a few years’ time, when the light-coloured brickwork begins to darken, the ALUCOBOND® elements will become more pronounced. The golden sheen of the ALUCOBOND® façade will withstand weathering and continue to highlight the square’s new beginnings for a long time to come.

Project: Centre Square Building 1, Middlesbrough | UK

Architect: Seymour Architecture, Morpeth | UK

Fabricator: CA Group Limited, Bishop Auckland | UK

Installer: Topside Modular Engineering (TME) | UK

Façade System: Tray Panels Screwed

Year of Construction: 2019

Product: ALUCOBOND® A2 spectra Desert Gold

Photos: Ashall Projects (MB) Ltd