Partner Article

New iconic site illuminates Newcastle skyline

A new illuminated piece of public art is to change Newcastle’s skyline for the next six months.

The temporary lighting installation - ‘Iconic Site’ - has been erected on Hawthorne House, at the top of Forth Banks, in the Stephenson Quarter.

The installation, commissioned by city property developer Silverlink and created by Glasgow-based architect/artists collaboration Sans facon, has been erected to mark the start of the £200m Stephenson Quarter redevelopment. Construction work is to start in the summer of 2009.

The Stephenson Quarter will feature two new hotels, 155 flats, 40,000 sq metres of high quality office space, a multi-storey car park, a new post office sorting facility, cultural buildings, shops, restaurants and new public spaces and landscaping.

Iconic Site was switched on by Coun John Shipley, leader of Newcastle City Council and David Clouston, managing director of Silverlink.

Coun Shipley said: “Iconic Site is a confident statement of how the city regards the Stephenson Quarter. Silverlink’s detailed scheme will revive a neglected area of the city, bringing jobs, homes, hotels and history to life. We are very excited that such a quality development has been approved, even in tough times.”

David Clouston said: “This imaginative installation takes its cue from the roof top signage of global cities and celebrates the re-emergence of Stephenson Quarter. It’s our intention to develop a site that the city will be proud of.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .