Locations

Locations

Irvin Building

Irvin Building

  • Client: Gentoo
  • Value: £5 million
  • Location: North Shields
  • Role: RIBA Stages 0-6

The Richard Irvin Building on North Shields Fish Quay is a Grade II Listed Building. It was built in 1913 and since then has become a landmark on the north side of the River Tyne at a focal point on the Fish Quay.

The existing building was divided into two principal elements, a two-storey office block on the street frontage and the four-storey warehouse and fish processing factory which sits alongside and behind. The existing building sits within a steep bank which is a feature on the north side of the river.

The building had fallen into disuse since 1995 and had become derelict with many parts of it becoming unsafe and unstable. A planning consent was granted for the conversion of the Grade II Listed Building into apartments, an office and a restaurant.

This scheme was a key part of the planned regeneration of the North Shields Fish Quay and will be a catalyst for further regeneration in the area. The scheme to convert the warehouse into twenty-four apartments proved to be exceptionally challenging. The use of the existing building provided opportunities to use the existing features. This meant that each apartment is different to its neighbour and each has its own special character.

One of the challenges was to accommodate the parking and in order to do this the existing building had to be underpinned, a ground floor dug out and the entire timber internal structure of the existing warehouse removed. This was replaced by a new steel frame which also provided support for the introduction of two penthouse units on the roof of the existing building.

The façades of the building were retained during this construction process.