Spotlight On: Newcastle Helix

18 October 2019

Newcastle Helix is the city’s flagship development and is set to offer 46,500sqm of office, research and meetings space upon completion.

The only one of its kind in the UK, the 24-acre hybrid city quarter is specifically built for international tech and science innovation and is home to the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing and the National Innovation Centre for Data.

Bringing together industry leaders, businesses and top researchers, the Helix boasts excellent facilities close to the city centre, positioning the site as an impressive location for hosting a conference.

Newcastle University’s Frederick Douglass Centre is the latest building to open on Newcastle Helix.

The £35m learning and teaching centre is named in honour of the 19^th century social reformer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, who was himself an escaped slave. Douglass visited Newcastle in 1846 as part of a lecture tour, speaking about slavery in America.

The purpose-built educational space comprises a multi-purpose 750-seater auditorium, which can split into a 500 and 250-seater lecture theatre, an open plan atrium and 176-seater collaborative lecture theatre.

The building also has plentiful seminar rooms with two 30-seater, two 45-seater and two 60-seater rooms and several social spaces throughout.

Paul Szomoru, director of business events at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau said: “The Frederick Douglass Centre is an excellent, flexible space and a great addition to the Newcastle Helix site, which is a hub of academic excellence and innovation in the centre of the city.

“The centre is within walking distance from metro, bus and mainline train services making it an extremely accessible venue for delegates.”

Other buildings on the site, which is expected to be fully completed in 2024, include the Urban Sciences Building, a living laboratory and an exemplar of world-class research and education in digital technology, The Biosphere which is a unique eco-system of commercial laboratory space and The Core, home to a mix of knowledge-based, research-led businesses.