The spectacular Grade 2* listed building that is home to the redboxdesigngroup was previously Newcastle upon Tyne’s central Post Office building serving the citizens of the city. The old Post Office was built in 1872 in the gracious Neo-Palladian style which is typical of the beautiful Grainger Town area of the city.

The building’s architectural heritage required sensitive and complex urban re-structuring leading to delicate negotiations with English Heritage, the Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment, and the local authority – a process which took the best part of five years to deliver.

But the wait was well worth it – and the development is one of the most imaginative re-uses of space in the city with a spectacular roof garden, commercial art gallery, soaring naturally lit office spaces, education facilities and the first loft apartments in Newcastle. All of the space is provided with underground parking at the site.

The development is set within a beautiful gated and fountained courtyard which creates a sense of respite and calm and is now vaunted by English Heritage as an exemplar for other such projects throughout the UK.

In the context of urban design and planning the scheme restores life to what had become a decaying quarter of the city. It is a true mixed use development with different uses wrapped around each other in a complex three dimensional jigsaw.

It provides a rich microcosm of what cities are about and demonstrates that, with a little thought, there is always another way other than simply bringing in the JCB. This approach is the signature style of redboxdesigngroup – to work carefully in partnership with interested parties to deliver design excellence without resorting to the demolition of key buildings, without which the cohesion of our cities breaks down.