The Ouseburn Valley, a central hub during the industrial revolution, Ouseburn declined along with the region's heavy industry, only to be reborn in recent years as a center of creativity and entrepreneurship. Ouseburn now offers a multitude of attractions, including music venues, recording studios, galleries, and pubs. One outstanding example of Ouseburn's rebirth is the newly renovated Toffee Factory.
Newcastle City Council and 1NG saw promise in the historic site, to transform the dilapidated structure into a dynamic, flexible office space for digital and creative businesses of all sizes. The building is now bathed in vibrant, colour-changing light of high-quality LED lighting. Twenty-seven eW Graze Powercore fixtures, were surface-mounted at the top of each façade buttress, highlighting the modern roof and provide a dramatic visual extension to the building's lighting.
In addition to illuminating the main building, emphasizes the factory's trademark surrounding structures: four gateway arches together forming the substructure of the Glasshouse Bridge and a 30m high chimney.
Sixty-four total ColorGraze Powercore fixtures, encased in IP-rated housings specially constructed by LITE Ltd, illuminate the walls of the four arches with striking, colorful light.
To light the massive chimney, the team used three ColorReach Powercore floodlights. They also installed a Pharos LPC 1 within the chimney to produce bold, color-changing lighting effects for the chimney. The powerful floodlights create high visibility. With long useful life and reliable operation, they avoid frequent relamping and repairs, drastically reducing maintenance costs.
Energy savings were a central goal of the Toffee Factory's overall design, along with minimizing future maintenance costs. The entire project would meet BREEAM sustainability requirements, and the lighting system afforded the energy savings necessary to achieve and exceed this goal.
In 2012, Toffee Factory won two prestigious Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Award; Regeneration of the Year and Project of the Year and two Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards; Northeast Sustainable Building of the Year and North East Building of the Year.
At night, people congregate to pose against the glowing arch lights, share images and comments on social media sites, and attend outdoor events set against a backdrop as dynamic as the Valley itself.