Culture House Starts on Site
Construction work has begun on the multi million pound Culture House in Sunderland, a new world-class cultural facility which Desco has designed the M&E services for.
The building is being constructed by Kier in the city’s Keel Square and will hold the new library and include spaces for immersive exhibitions and creative spaces. It is part of Sunderland City Council’s plan for Riverside Sunderland, which aims to re-imagine the heart of the city.
The 4-storey building, which is a modern learning and community building, will offer a mix of immersive digital experiences and traditional media for visitors, with locals encouraged to suggest ideas of exhibitions and experiences for the centre. Inside the building there will be performance spaces, exhibition and gallery spaces, libraries, a permanent home for the local studies and archives centre, creative labs, spaces for instructed learning and play, a café and a roof garden.
It is hoped that Culture House will act as a civic landmark in the revived city centre. The building will overlook the recently refurbished Keel Square and is designed to focus on sustainability as part of the council’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2030.
The design team for the development of Culture House includes FaulknerBrowns Architects, Desco, Gleeds, SHED and Kier Construction as the appointed contractor.