Central Station in Newcastle upon Tyne was designed in 1845 for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway Company by John Dobson, who was the founder of the Northern Architectural Association. Dobson felt new buildings, especially for new uses (like railways) were important opportunities to inspire the public aspirations about architecture.
Northern Architecture - The Story so Far...
Northern Architecture was created in 1995 as the Northern Architecture Centre Limited. The four original subscribers to the company were the Newcastle Architecture Workshop, the Northern Branch of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Northern Architectural Association and the Centre for the Built Environment (the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumbria University). These four separate bodies each had their own history - the Newcastle Architecture Workshop was created in 1977, the first body of its kind in the UK, dedicated to helping communities schools and colleges make positive changes to their own environment.
The Northern Architectural Association was set up in 1851 by architects in the North East to promote the science and art of architecture. The four bodies came together to raise funds for and build a centre that could bring together all of their functions under one roof- promoting and assisting architects, promoting architecture to the public, engaging and assisting schools and communities, and engaging other professionals in raising architectural standards in the North East.
Despite hours of input from many people and the support of many public bodies, the scheme to build a physical centre was withdrawn in 1998. To sustain some of the momentum that had been built up, Northern Arts gave funding for the post of Programme Director, and Mark Daniels took up this post later that year. Operating as Northern Architecture the company was based in the premises leased by Newcastle Architecture Workshop from Newcastle City Council in the 13th century cloister of Blackfriars, in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Unfortunately in 1999 the Newcastle Architecture Workshop closed due to lack of funding. The Centre for the Built Environment also effectively no longer exists, although the two universities collaborate with the Northern Architectural Association and Northern Architecture on an annual programme of architecture and design lectures. In 2002 Northern Architecture received funding from the regional programme of CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and together with continued funding from the Arts Council of England, North East, this has enabled the story to begin again.
