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Corby Cube
Corby Cube
George Street, Corby, United Kingdom
Project Featured on May 12, 2014
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Other Projects by Hawkins\Brown
Corby Cube
George Street, Corby, United Kingdom
Project Featured on May 12, 2014
Firm
YEAR
2010
SIZE
500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft
Hawkins\Brown’s striking glazed Corby Cube, the focal point of a major regeneration programme to revitalise the former steel making town in Northants, UK has completed and is now open to the public.Won in international competition in 2004, the Corby Cube combines a diverse programme of civic and arts uses into a new model for civic architecture.Maximising its central location at the heart of a new town square, the building’s array of uses are arranged around an internal ‘promenade architecturale’ composed into a coherent glazed cube form with four ‘live’ elevations, each articulating the uses contained within.Commissioned by Corby Borough Council, the Corby Cube is part of a wider regeneration strategy driven by North Northants Development Company to revitalise Corby as a vibrant, confident and attractive town to live, work, visit, shop and do business.Not since Corby’s expansion in 1950 when it was afforded New Town status has the town benefitted from such investment. Recent developments include the arrival of the town’s first railway station and the opening of a new Olympic sized public swimming pool on the site adjacent to the Cube. The two buildings sit within a new landscaped town square that links the former town centre to historic woodland in the West and promises to become the new social heart of Corby town centre.At a time of spending reviews and central funding cuts the Cube represents a model for how local authorities can address financial challenges through the consolidation and streamlining of their services. The competition brief originally called for two buildings; a civic hub and an arts centre, which together would mark a gateway between the town centre and the parkland beyond. Hawkins\Brown’s innovative response was to combine these two briefs into a single building. This proposal provided multiple benefits in terms of sharing common facilities and infrastructure to realise savings in capital and running costs, the fostering of synergetic relationships between the various users, whilst also freeing up a further site for redevelopment.The resultant 7,700 sq m building features a mix of facilities including:• A 450-seat theatre with front of house foyers and bars • A multifunctional studio space • A ground floor Café• A modern well-equipped Library • Corby Borough Council One-Stop-Shop and civic offices • Council Chamber which provides a marriage venue for civil ceremonies • Terraced Roof Garden with adjacent exhibition space or restaurantCorby Cube breaks the tradition of a formal town hall situated at the head of the town square and is instead located in the centre of the new square with four active fronts. An external envelope of black and reflective glass gives the building its characteristic glistening object-like form. Each elevation is distinctively articulated within this: the North elevation is animated by the projected transparent glazed entrance foyer; the East elevation by a double- height window into the council chamber; a cantilevered reading room projects out of the first floor of the South elevation providing shade to café’; and the West elevation expresses the library within. The pure form of the building is unobstructed by service entrances and plant which are contained in a below ground undercroft.Treating the roof as a fifth elevation, generous public roof terraces on the building’s upper levels are planted with full-size trees and feature sedum and brown roofs to enhance the site’s ecology.All facilities are arranged around an internal route coiled inside the cube form, allowing access for all. Many facilities have a ground floor presence and are inextricably linked, arranged around a continuous route, which rises from the foyer through the building and culminates in a helical stair leading to the rooftop terrace. The building combines uses to ensure activity around the clock, from early morning visitors to the library and café to late night performances in the theatre.The library is one of the Corby Cube’s key facilities. It is located in the heart of the building along the central ramp as an intrinsic element of the building's circulation to increase footfall and encourage occupation.Contrary to the formal layout of a traditional library the library here is open and accessible to all, linking the primary entrance foyer with the local authority's One-Stop-Shop at first floor level via a gentle series of ramps. Each zone of the library is easily accessed from the main circulation route; from shared computer access, individual study and reading areas and dedicated children's and youth spaces.Care has been taken to integrate details such as the bespoke joinery and seating within the language of the building as a whole. Signage and graphics produced in collaboration with graphic design studio SEA enrich the interior and enhance the library's own identity within the building.Beyond the Library, the architectural promenade continues up to the One- Stop Shop on level 1, which features an open plan cashier and waiting area with private rooms for one to one meetings.The Council Chamber and council offices located on level 2 are distinguished from the lower levels by a change in materiality from exposed concrete walls to walnut cladding. The Council Chamber is characterised by a contemporary chandelier and bespoke carpet with thistle motif designed by Timorous Beasties - a reference to Corby’s Scottish heritage.The theatre is a walnut clad casket with traditional Victorian playhouse balconies submerged into the South East corner of the Cube. Designed in collaboration with theatre designers Charcoalblue, the aim of the theatre was to create an intimate space where members of the audience could experience a variety of different acts at close quarters.
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