Northern Rock offices Sunderland with AukettSwanke
40,000m2 of offices for the northeastern bank. The scheme arcs around views to the southwest of the nearby Rainton Meadows and Joe’s Pond nature reserves with an array of deep plan office wings suited to the call centre operations. A ground floor street along the front connects stairs and atria with cafés, restaurant and support facilities along the front façade.
The monopitch roofs of the large office wings conceal roof plantrooms and recall the super-size agricultural sheds that feature in the Northumberland countryside. Façade composition differentiates solid masonry flank walls from a vertically striated copper/glass infill to gables. A gas fired CHP unit reduces reliance on external energy sources and the development achieved BREEAM ‘Very Good’. Will was associate design director responsible for concept design, technical design and realisation.
