Plans have been approved to build a new £50 million national innovation in Newcastle.

The facility at Science Central will become the third Newcastle University building located at the site and will bring together businesses, university academics and the public sector to support the research and development of new ageing and data-oriented products and services.

Designed by GSSArchitecture, the building will become home to the University's teams from the National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA), the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) and the National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory (NIHRIO). Construction is scheduled to start soon, with a scheduled opening date in 2020.

Professor Mike Catt, Director of the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, said: "The National Innovation Centre will provide national leadership on the global question 'how do we age well?'


"By 2050, the number of people in the world aged 60 years or over is projected to more than double, reaching nearly 2.1 billion. This globally ageing population presents many challenges around quality of life and health and wellbeing amongst others as well as multiple economic and social opportunities.

"Similarly, the explosion of digital data has the potential to transform business and public services products worldwide, offering huge opportunity for the investigation and application of new processes and services.

"This new building will provide NICA and NICD with a much-needed facility to bring together industry, experts and the public under one roof to drive the collaborative development of new products and services and cement the North East as global trailblazer in innovation."

Jonathan Hunter, Partner at GSSArchitecture said: "The GSS designed National Innovation Centre represents true destination architecture through a simple, yet powerful, triangular design form. The building will be both distinct and highly identifiable and will be a vibrant landmark at Science Central.

"The design makes the most of the public realm and encourages the external landscape to flow into and integrate with the National Innovation Centre, encouraging public interaction and creating a welcoming and inviting arrival experience.

"The building is publicly accessible at ground and first floor, with a range of innovation suites and collaboration facilities on the upper three floors. In all areas, the use of circulation space and common areas has been maximised to promote integration and collaboration resulting in the cross-fertilisation of ideas that are the bedrock of innovation."

(LM/MH)