ARCHITECTS working for developer Terrace Hill have received planning permission for the first commercial buildings on the multi-million pound Middlehaven development, in Middlesbrough.

The Red Box Design Group has received planning consents for two office buildings, providing 36,245 sq ft of accommodation and a 4,000sq ft brasserie.

The buildings form part of the first phase of the scheme, involving 5.4 acres of land and five buildings, including the brasserie, a caf and bar and associated parking, around a riverside promenade, courtyards and public squares.

Red Box and Terrace Hill worked with Tees Valley Regeneration (TVR) on the development.

Red Box Design Group project partner David Coundon said: "Our brief was to produce an architecture that is inspirational, contemporary, and full of light.

"The proposals therefore incorporate large areas of sleek glazing, and this has been supplemented with a palette of other materials, including masonry and metal.

"Great effort has also been invested in developing both the spatial relationships and tectonic quality of the public realm around and between the buildings."

Terrace Hill director Philip Leech is keen to begin work at Middlehaven as soon as the details of the development agreement are finalised. He said: "Middlehaven is one of the region's biggest and most ambitious waterfront developments and we are delighted to be working closely with TVR and the other project partners to transform this rundown site into a thriving commercial area.

"High quality office space has been in short supply in Middlesbrough for a long time.

"That situation is now about to change."

Published: 27/01/2004