Should Sunderland’s National Glass Centre be saved?

As the National Glass Centre in Sunderland closes its doors, this event discusses the issues raised by its impending demolition and the question of how we deal with our recent architectural heritage.

The National Glass Centre in Sunderland is a landmark millennium-era project that led the regeneration along the banks of the River Wear. Designed by Gollifer Associates, the marine-industrial style building is sited close to the birthplace of UK glass making, dating back to the seventh century. The centre combines exhibition galleries, spaces for teaching and facilities for glass blowing, kiln casting, sandblasting, engraving, flameworking, coldworking and waterjet cutting.

When the centre was completed, the Guardian’s architecture critic, Jonathan Glancey, described it as ‘a building that looks tough and gritty on first acquaintance, but is, in fact, a romantic engagement with Sunderland’s muscular history of shipbuilding, seafaring and heavy industry.’ The project was also notable for being the first building in the country to receive National Lottery Funding, which changed the landscape for cultural projects in the UK.

The centre is, however, due to close this Summer. The University of Sunderland, which took over the ownership and management of the centre in 2010, have cited the unaffordable cost of essential repairs to the building and high operating costs as making the centre no longer viable. The centre’s closure will be followed by the building’s demolition and redevelopment of the site. Although a replacement centre is planned for Sunderland city centre, a campaign has been mounted to save the National Glass Centre receiving 41,000 signatories and a listing application currently under consideration with Historic England.

In this event, we discuss the story behind the National Glass Centre and its significance as one of the first ‘Millennium projects’ that sought to redefine how culture is consumed in the UK while contributing to economic regeneration. We consider its architectural ambitions and influences, at a turning point in recent British architectural history. At the same time, we also examine the challenges that such buildings pose their owners as they reach their third decades: from maintenance to questions around operational viability and financial sustainability. How do we protect our recent heritage while ensuring it remains fit for purpose?

Speakers

Andy Gollifer is the architect of the National Glass Centre building. He studied architecture at Bristol University and the Royal College of Art before establishing his practice Gollifer Associates (now Gollifer Langston Architects) in 1994. In the same year, it won the Europe-wide competition to design the new glass centre held by the RIBA and the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation.

Laura Mark is the Head of Casework at the Twentieth Century Society. Earlier this year, she submitted the application for the National Glass Centre to be listed to Historic England.

Carolyn Basing is a contemporary glass artist who has rented a studio at the National Glass Centre since she graduated from her MA in 2016. She is the chair of the campaign to save the National Glass Centre.

Loes Veldpaus – Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University. Loes’ research spans urban and planning history, heritage planning, and governance of the built environment, usually centring on re-use and re-design, and collaborating with people in or affected by the heritage sector.

Chaired by Owen Hopkins, Director of the Farrell Centre.

Organised in collaboration with the Twentieth Century Society.

Photo by Tim Soar