By Peter Swift, Director at Dunwoodie Swift Architects.
In the last couple of years, post Covid, we have been developing the ‘STACK’ brand for the Danieli Group. I’ve written a couple of articles referencing the decline in the performance of retail on the high street in the UK so there are fantastic opportunities for exciting new uses to come forward.
Before & during Covid we delivered both Newcastle & Seaburn STACK leisure hubs, designed using upcycled shipping containers, giving a leg up to numerous start-up businesses. Whilst Newcastle STACK was always going to be a short term development, STACK Seaburn, due to it’s huge success is outlasting it’s older brother & will be with us for many more years to come.
One of the unfortunate consequences of Covid & the economic slowdown has been the number of empty retail units which are now available throughout the country. We only need to look at Eldon Garden & Debenhams in the centre of Newcastle to see this at first hand. What this has indirectly led to is the evolution of STACK & housing it within existing buildings whilst maintaining the atmosphere & social interaction experienced in what we call a ‘traditional’ STACK. This is the challenge we face & has led to us carrying out feasibility studies on various sites nationwide & planning applications being submitted for sites in Worswick Chambers in Pilgrim Street in Newcastle, Lincoln, Durham, Whitley Bay, all four of which are either in listed buildings or conservation areas, alongside other new build sites in Carlisle, Bishop Auckland and a further ‘traditional’ pop-up STACK in Middlesborough, not to mention the recently announced Newcastle United Fanzone which we are working on with both the football club & Danieli Group.
The Worswick Chambers scheme in Newcastle is set to be the new long term successor to the original STACK Newcastle when it opens in Summer 2024, with an external plaza set between the existing listed buildings & a new contemporary mesh clad extension incorporating a mix of street food, bars & competitive social gaming areas. This is a classic example of bringing a beautiful listed building back to life with a new use after being left to deteriorate for many years.
Our scheme in Lincoln is another where we have re-purposed what was previously a large two storey retail unit where we have cut a hole in the first floor slab to create the double height STACK ‘plaza’ and replaced an existing single storey roof with a new external decked area which is one of the essential elements of a STACK scheme. There is also a nod to the ‘traditional’ STACK with bars & street food units housed in shipping containers on the deck.
Similarly, we are bringing the former Carlton Bingo Hall/Empress Ballroom adjacent to Spanish City in Whitley Bay back to life with a new external terrace area. I have a feeling this is going to be a fabulous STACK venue! We are also re-purposing the old M&S building on Silver Street in Durham City, once again including a new roof top external decked area with fantastic views towards Durham Castle & the roofscape of the city beyond. The common theme in all of these is that STACK is providing a new & vibrant use for existing buildings which may be either listed or in conservation areas which have either been left to rot or their previous uses were no longer viable. The STACK brand is way more than simply using shipping containers, it is a coming together of the sum of its’ parts to create a fun social experience which thousands of people have now come to love & enjoy!
To find out more go to
www.dunwoodieswift.co.uk
