Architect/ Designer: Make Architects
Client/Developer: Hiscox
Builder: BAM Construction North East
Presented by: Tim Hedley Jones, Major Projects Director, Virgin Trains East Coast
The Hiscox Building is a large, conspicuous and uncompromisingly modern building occupying a whole city block at Peasholme Green. Its most impressive feature is the interior – sadly invisible from the outside, except at night. Three floors of open-plan offices overlook a spectacular three-storey glazed atrium, topped with a large roof terrace. Groups of compartmented rooms and the services accommodation are arranged along the back of the plan, against the curious rear façade of interwoven brick strips. The interior uses undecorated concrete and uniform floor finishes. But the overall impression is hugely impressive, thanks to the dramatic, sweeping concrete stair that connects the floor plates around the atrium, the informal desk arrangements in the working spaces and the extensive displays of contemporary art – which include the so-called ‘Peace Rocket’ (the only collaborative project by both Russia and the USA) in this magnificently sculptural interior.
