Architect
Benedict’s Gate
The starting point was looking at the skyline of Norwich from afar, whether it be arriving by train or looking at the site from the old gasworks to the east. One thing that struck me about the skyline of Norwich was the steeples, the bell towers of the churches. A lot of the civic buildings, even the town hall, has a bell tower associated with it.
The other thing was the variety of heights, the topography of the city – as it stands now – allowed the sky to be punctured at various heights, in different ways, by the towers and the buildings within the dense inner city of Norwich itself. The site is on a hill, which gave us a head start because, when complete, Pablo Fanque House became one of the tallest buildings in Norwich.
The part of the city we’re talking about was quite heavily bombed during the Second World War. Not because they were strategically bombing that area, but offloading the bombs so they could move faster back to Germany. The 1950s saw a lot of building there with the likes of the bus station, John Lewis, and the Aviva headquarters.
Norwich is known as a pretty, old city with a cathedral and a historic quarter. The site wouldn’t have been regarded as a more attractive part of the city. We were trying to make this building add to that part of the city, something that made the other buildings work better around it. We saw it as a missing piece, with the buildings around it being very flat-topped and consistent, creating a focal point that tried to break that up. One of the things we’ve done particularly well is in the choice and use of materials. Light materials which give bright- ness, even on a dull day. The brick material that we chose gives a nice kind of glow to the building sitting on the top of the hill.
It’s been very warmly received in Norwich as something that has absolutely im- proved the look and the feel of that part of the city. It has made the surrounding architecture look and feel better because of the strength of the building. You know it very positively transformed that area, which is quite a rare feat. It’s not only become a favourite of many of the locals but of visitors as well. We’ve had people from various parts of Europe, for instance, writing to us to say they really enjoy the building.
It’s a building that works in different ways. It has strategically placed windows and common rooms at corners. For the public there’s a transparency through
the building to the courtyard at the back, which is an oasis for the students. It also creates a visual amenity not only for the public going past, but also for the workers in the surrounding buildings that look onto it.
There’s quite an emphasis on this big common area immediately as you go inside the building, and through the large windows it’s visible to the public, where there’s artwork from various artists. That includes bespoke artwork commissioned reflecting the history of Pablo Fanque and his place in Norwich history as the UK’s first black circus proprietor – whose playbill was famously quoted in The Beatles song ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite.’ The space is very well used by students and for university events.
It’s a very green building as well. Like other buildings we’ve done with Alumno they need to be at high standards of thermal efficiency. In this case we used the up-to-date standard of insulation. It was used in an advert for Rockwool on their front page. Since the Grenfell disaster fire safety has been a major issue for any new buildings going up around the country. Ours was used as exemplar of how to do it.
Norwich Council were trying to free up residential areas in the inner city that had been completely used up for multi-occupancy private student housing. Building and opening Pablo Fanque House really helped free these areas up for families and other residents. They were very encouraged to bring students into an area which effectively is quite quiet at night.
In addition, it gave it a 24/7 feel to the area. It generates over £1.5 million into the local economy every year: restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, etc. In an area that was perhaps underused and struggling in these modern times. I think it’s encouraged some businesses to grow and maintain their existence. Which is quite extraordinary given the times, where many retail businesses and hospi- tality have been struggling and closing around the country. John Lewis across the road commented on the fact that some of their departments do particularly well every year, because of the students.
We’ve had various awards – including a Design and Craftmanship award from RIBA Norfolk and The Norwich Society – and cemented a very good relation- ship with Norwich Council. They even used the building to help promote the city. Among the other awards the building won, was at the International Design Awards in LA – in the residential building category – as one of the best in the world. It’s lovely to receive such accolades and feel a building has become quite loved in a city.
Norwich Pablo Fanque House
