Oakwellgate, The Sage

1996-2004 by Foster and Partners. Undulating shell of glass and stainless steel. Described by McCombie as having a 'distinctive gleaming bulging form'. Funded by the Arts Council and named after the principal sponsor, Newcastle software company, Sage. Mott MacDonald were structural and service engineers, Buro Happold were chief engineers for the roof and Arup designed the acoustics, communications and fire controls. The roof has a maximum span of 80 metres formed by four primary arches with beam segments of increasing radius. This forms a sheath which covers a large strutted structure and wraps around two reinforced concrete concert halls which sit above an education and conference centre. There are high wide porches at west and east ends. The Sage is the home of the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra and Folkworks traditional music and dance organisation. The large concert hall holds 1650 people, the small one 450 people. The balustrade is a curving glass screen by Kate Maestri in blue and green.
This site was added to the Gateshead local list in 2023.