Historic Newcastle quarter gains momentum

Photo pointing down the inside of the Pattern Shop before work was completed – a long, old factory with crumbling floors and metal beams.
JILL TATE

Founders Place LLP

The challenge

This joint venture between Newcastle City Council and igloo Regeneration is one of the UK’s most high-profile developments, reimagining an area within the Stephenson Quarter that once housed Newcastle’s pioneering railway workshops. Already home to a college, hotel and events venue, Founders Place will reignite the quarter’s industrious legacy, sensitively rooting new buildings, modern restorations and public spaces as a home for the city’s future pioneers.

Our challenge is to win support for this vision and generate commercial interest in the development. We’re establishing Founders Place as a destination worthy of attention and investment, while celebrating Newcastle’s iconic industrial heritage.

The work

Focusing on the site’s globally significant history as a place of innovation, we’re fostering a sense of community around the new development. We’ve latched onto anniversaries linked to Robert Stephenson (the 19th-century locomotive engineer and the quarter’s namesake), to emphasise the role of Founders Place in honouring the area’s industrial past.

By highlighting content opportunities, we’ve encouraged a positive word-of-mouth culture amongst key stakeholders within industry and public-facing channels. Through consistent media releases, one-to-one site tours and interview opportunities, we’re demonstrating progress at every step.

Aerial photo of Newcastle, with a CGI image of the modern development One Founders Place in the foreground, including a communal outdoor area with trees.
ALLFORD HALL MONAGHAN MORRIS
A CGI representation of a modern glass-fronted building sitting above a brick arcade, with people walking, sitting, and passing through a landscaped public plaza.
ALLFORD HALL MONAGHAN MORRIS
Photo of the inside of the Pattern Shop before work was completed – an old, grey stone building with timber and metal poles leaning against the wall.
JILL TATE
Photo of the restored Pattern Shop – a converted factory with big windows and a red façade – from the outside on a sunny day.
BARRY PELLS

The impact

Features across national, regional and trade publications have drummed up excitement around the project, and stakeholders are now sharing developments through their own channels. The Pattern Shop, an innovative office space within Founders Place, gained its first tenant and was named ‘Development of the Year’ by Place North East.

The wheels are in motion. Founders Place is gaining momentum on its journey to becoming a celebrated part of Newcastle’s exciting future, while honouring the city’s industrial legacy.

A collage of media coverage about Founders Place, Newcastle city centre. Headlines from BBC News, Insider Media, Prolific North, Business Live, The Architects’ Journal, and Place North East highlight progress at Founders Place, the Stephenson Quarter, and the Pattern Shop redevelopment, including government funding, restored historic buildings, and new mixed-use developments. Images include an architectural rendering of a modern multi-storey building and a photograph of the Pattern Shop structure.

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