Belgrave House, Northampton

Objective:

Belgrave House was built in 1969, constructed from concrete in the mid-century ‘Brutalist’ style, commissioned by Barclay’s Bank as the Head Office for their new ‘Fin-Tech’ venture called ‘Barclaycard’. As technology progressed at a rapid rate, the data lines into the building could not be secured to the modern standards of the 1980’s and the building was vacated and left in various states of occupation for the next decade, until it slowly met its demise into obsolescence. Against the backdrop that the 7-storey building is in a progressive state of dereliction, but physically attached to other holdings, buildings and interests, we were commissioned by West Northamptonshire Council to create a ‘Vision’ to take it forward into the Greyfriars Masterplan.

Tactics:

Our initial research and feedback had revealed so much pent-up ambition within the manufacturing, and creative community of Northampton that we were confident we could aim high, and bring together the most dynamic, motivated, capable creative entrepreneurs that the region could offer, they just needed a new hub. We approached the building layer by layer, envisioning life at Foyer level, through to the mid-section guts of the building and then to the roof for the lighter pleasures of life, with micro-brewery and tap room, and seasonal rooftop bar and community spaces. The building was referenced and overlaid with spatial planning designs to test if traditional manufacturing processes and logistical requirements could be accommodated within the superstructure, a task which involved many visits, and surveys of traditional shoe making factories.

Outcome:

Approaching this Vision was a highly collaborative process bringing together industry leaders, manufacturers and makers, Universities and academics from across the UK, the Guilds, architects, designers and even creative publishers and content creators. The approach to the Vision is clear and gained traction to proceed, subject to ongoing viability studies.

Services:

Vision and Strategy, Masterplanning & Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration, Building Technology, Specification and User Requirements, Industrial Surveys, Spatial Planning.