Area-based regeneration: Riverside, Sunderland

Riverside Sunderland is an ambitious 15-year transformational plan for the city centre through a new mixed use urban quarter being created on either side of the River Wear.

Creative Space has been a trusted supplier engaged by Sunderland City Council on key projects for Riverside Sunderland since 2014. Early work was focused on scoping potential for new commercial buildings in the city centre to combat out-of-town developments that were hollowing out the city core.

A new six-storey, £20m office block that provides 5,520sm of grade-A office space marked the first phase of this venture. Reflecting the scale of the challenge Sunderland faced, this formed the first speculative office built in the city centre in the past 40 years.

Creative Space developed the business case for the first building on the former Vaux Brewery site and was subsequently appointed to work alongside architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley to inform end user requirements for the design development.

Creative Space led naming and branding of The Beam, to build upon the heritage of the neighbouring Keel Line, both pieces of infrastructure reflecting the scale of the largest ship (the Naess Crusader) ever built in the city.  The front of the building exactly illustrates the width or beam of the vessel.

The building opened in January 2020, winning British Council for Offices’ (BCO) Award for ‘Best Workplace Building’ in the North.

Creative Space was subsequently appointed to provide a management strategy for the new adjacent multi-tenanted City Hall building. In 2021 it was commissioned to explore best-in-class estate management for the wider Riverside estate and to produce a long-term placemaking strategy to support long-term stewardship of a strong residential and commercial community.