Southern Green, a landscape architecture firm based in Gateshead, was appointed to design the landscape at Northshore Innovation Centre, a project that is part of a wider regeneration masterplan in Stockton-on-Tees, which has been referred to as one of the most exciting regeneration developments in the north of England in recent years. Tobermore provided Southern Green with a variety of hard landscaping products that offered modern aesthetics to complement the new building whilst protecting against pavement shifting.
Northshore Innovation Centre accommodates office space, homes, retail outlets, hotels, eateries, bars and leisure facilities. The centre is situated on the eastern edge of Stockton-on-Tees town centre and re-connects the town with the River Tees. This offers many benefits to the wider community as it has created new jobs and residential space for the community.
Liam Haggarty, Associate Architect at Southern Green, explained more about the regeneration scheme: “The objective of the project was to provide Teeside University with a hub of innovation for emerging and ambitious technology companies.”
With this in mind, a landscape design with a contemporary edge was needed and it was decided that block paving was the best hard landscaping solution to employ. Liam commented: “Paving is robust, cost-effective and the variety of product styles available allowed us to find something that would effectively tie in with the style of the development.
“The landscape concept was very simple, and largely functional, though there was one external communal area at the building main entrance where we introduced street furniture and decided to use higher quality paving materials to enhance the immediate surrounding area.
The landscape architect liaised with Tobermore’s North East Sales team in sourcing suitable paving products. Southern Green was particularly impressed with the modern finishes of Chieftain VS5, Fusion and Sienna block paving that would enhance the contemporary aesthetic of the Northshore building. These products are manufactured with a sparkling granite aggregate surface layer that produces a look similar to natural granite.
Chieftain VS5 is a large format paving product that is designed to provide maximum pavement stability. The product is manufactured with shift protection on five sides of the block including a special profile on the bottom surface which produces a clawing effect in the pavement bed, preventing movement when the heavy duty blocks are laid together.
Fusion is a modular sized paving product while Sienna is manufactured in single and duo sizes. Fusion and Sienna are available in a range of striking colours that offer a variety of interesting laying patterns.
Liam explained why Tobermore paving was the top choice for Southern Green’s landscape design concept: “We specified Tobermore products for aesthetic reasons and for their technical capabilities. The larger unit Chieftain VS5 product is only offered by Tobermore, and the product range suited the palette of materials used for the construction of the Northshore building.”
Now complete, the project successfully achieved Southern Green’s design vision. Liam commented on his experience of working with Tobermore on Northshore Innovation Centre: “I am very pleased with the products supplied by Tobermore. I would recommend Tobermore products to other architects, contractors or developers.”
