Key members of the design team for the new £200m regional arena and conference and exhibition centre for Gateshead Quays have been appointed.
Three firms of architects are now in place to plan the 10-acre site on Gateshead Quays which sits directly opposite the Gateshead Millennium Bridge and between Sage Gateshead and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.
World-renowned architects firm HOK have been appointed to design the new 12,500 seat arena and international conference and exhibition centre. HOK has designed some of the most iconic buildings in the world, including the recently opened $1.3 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit USA. Whilst HOK are also designing the new arenas for FC Barcelona & Abu Dhabi’s new Arena & district on Yas Island.
AHR Architects Ltd, a multi-award winning practice, has been selected to develop and design the overall masterplan of the site including hotels, bars and restaurants and car parking for the scheme.
And Planit-ie, with particular experience in designing outside spaces, has been selected as landscape architects, drawing on expertise both in the UK and abroad for which the firm has won a number of industry awards.
These appointments have been made by Ask Real Estate and PATRIZIA UK, Gateshead Council’s development partners for Gateshead Quays.
The 12,500 seat arena, and conference and exhibition facilities which will be operated by SMG Europe, will replace the existing Metro Radio Arena. The development is set to open in 2021.
The design team will now commence work on a masterplan for Gateshead Quays and it is expected that a planning application will be made in late 2018.