Igloo names One Founders Place and Orchard Yard teams

The next phases of the mixed-use development will see the delivery of the 10-storey, 130,000 sq ft grade A office and continued development on the residential element of the scheme.

Both projects are located in the Stephenson Quarter next to the recently renovated Pattern Shop.

Now, AHMM Architects, Plan IT, Arup, Avison Young, and RBA have been appointed by igloo Regeneration to deliver One Founders Place, the gateway to the wider £137m Founders Place project.

Knight Frank is handling lettings for the building, which will have open-plan office space and multiple outdoor terraces.

Planning for One Founders Place is expected to be submitted in the spring of 2026.

​Progress is also advancing at the neighbouring Orchard Yard, a 70-home scheme where enabling works – including the clearance and remediation of disused structures – are underway.

Here, a second newly appointed design team comprising Faulkner Browns, Camlin, BGP, Desco, and heritage consultant Sarah Dyer will develop the next phase of plans for the residential scheme that will include family homes, apartments, and green public spaces into the city centre.

Supported by £1.65m of One Public Estate brownfield funding, plans for Orchard Yard are expected to be submitted in the summer of next year.

The Founders Place project has been a partnership between igloo and Newcastle City Council, and includes the regeneration of the Pattern Shop, which is now home to online retail bank Atom, following the relocation of its 600 employees from Durham.

Insi Khushnood of igloo said: “Founders Place continues to move forward with real momentum. Together with our partners and Newcastle City Council, we’re helping to unlock the next chapter in this area’s long industrial story –  one that connects heritage with innovation and sustainable growth for the city.

“Across every part of the development, from new homes coming to Orchard Yard to the successful restoration of the Pattern Shop, our focus is on quality, community and environmental responsibility.

“Founders Place will be a lasting legacy for Newcastle – one that brings people together and continues the city’s tradition of design and engineering excellence.”

Deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, cllr Alex Hay, who has responsibility for planning, said: “Founders Place is a transformational mixed-use development site within an Accelerated Development Zone that is also an important employment site for the city.

“We’ve already seen exciting developments, not least the relocation of the bank Atom into the Pattern Shop with over 500 jobs which is fantastic for the local economy.

“Now that our development partner igloo has appointed a design team for Orchard Yard, I look forward to new houses and apartments being built on that site.

“Plans for One Founders Place, a 10-storey office block, will go before planning committee in the coming months, and although it will be subject to the rigours of the planning process, it’s great to see things progressing.”