ARCHITECT Xsite is to work on a major festival in the region.

The Newcastle company will work on the Dott 07 Festival, which will run from October 14 to 28 in NewcastleGateshead.

Xsite is working on a number of projects, including the Digital Enterprise Centre, which will form the £7.5m centrepiece of Middlesbrough's DigitalCity development, and the regeneration of Newcastle's Walker Riverside.

Dott 07 is a year of community projects, events and exhibitions exploring what life in a sustainable region could be like and how design can help achieve that.

John Thackara, Dott 07 programme director, said: "One of the factors that clinched it for Xsite was their long-standing relationship with the worlds of theatre and performance. They understand how important it is, in a special event like the Dott 07 Festival, to animate a space as well as shape it."