Local architect who draws on his talents

THE offices that house Alan Smith's Red Box Design Group are symbolic of the man himself. Tucked away behind iron gates, along a cobbled alley you would never know they were there.

Yet the interior of the building, close to St Nicholas' Cathedral, in Newcastle, challenges visitors not to be awestruck. Polished black marble floors, high ceilings and walls hung with original artworks. A spiral staircase leads to the boardroom, which regularly doubles as a gallery for local artists.

The open plan office, formerly the telegraph office of the old post office, is vast and airy and still has the original beamed ceilings. The finishing touch is the rooftop garden, a green oasis in the heart of the city, though once up there, you can't helping feeling you are not in Newcastle any more. This level of style would not be out of place in Hong Kong, Sydney or New York.

Then there is Mr Smith. He is a member of the Entrepreneurs' Forum and well known to the business community, but his public profile is low key - you won't see his picture gracing the social diary pages.

But as an architect, he has had an enormous impact on the homes and lives of thousands of people in the North-East through, among other things, urban regeneration and social housing schemes, commercial developments such as Northern Rock's and regional development agency One NorthEast's new headquarters, and leisure projects that include the Newcastle-Gateshead Hilton.

By his own admission, Mr Smith comes from a simple, working class family, in Meadowfield. An only child, his father was a career soldier, serving in India, Ireland and France before he settled in County Durham as a miner and met Mr Smith's mother.

"He worked very, very hard to allow me to do A-levels and go to university. He would cycle from Meadowfield to Bowburn, do an eight-hour shift down the pit, then cycle back," says Mr Smith.

His mother was a seamstress and florist who passed on her artistic skills and eye for detail to her son.

"It was a very strict, aspirational family and they didn't want me to take the obvious, traditional path down the pit. It was a tough childhood, but fun," he recalls.

He was brought up with a strong work ethic, his day starting at 5am when he'd go to Newcastle flower market to pick up blooms for his mother and be back an hour later to do his paper round. By 8am, he was helping the school caretaker shovel coke into the boilers. After classes, he walked a neighbour's five greyhounds and, at weekends, caddied at Brancepeth golf course.

His interest in art, and architecture, began while at school through his father's friendship with North-East artist Norman Cornish - Mr Smith now has one of the biggest private collections of the former miner's work.

"Norman told me, 'there's no money in art. If you want to get involved in art, get involved in architecture'," he reveals.

Mr Smith followed his advice and took maths and history of art at A-level to become the first boy from Durham Johnston School to go on to study architecture.

He hated university, but the holidays offered some respite, working for Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) on projects including Sunderland Civic Centre, Eldon Square in Newcastle, and Windscale.

In 1970, he designed his first house and, on getting his first job, was given the freedom to work on sports pavilions and council estates.

By the mid-1970s he was designing homes for others, having joined the team behind Washington New Town. In 1981, he joined his first private practice in Newcastle. Three years later he had his own, Alan J Smith Partnership.

Within three years he had an office in London with 13 staff and contracts including developments on Chelsea Embankment and Docklands.

By 1988, the practice had become a group, with the launch of Rossetti Interiors, an interior design company, and Unit 72, a project management business.

A first European practice opened in Amsterdam in 1991, and a foray into Vietnam came a few years later.

One of Mr Smith's passions is cars, which also provided opportunities for his design skills.

He set up a Formula 3000 racing team after collaborating with former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan. It won its first race at Brands Hatch and its championship in only its second season.

Mr Smith's dream to launch a North-East Grand Prix came close to becoming a reality in the early 1990s. "It was about the design and manufacturing challenge, bringing apprentices through and putting Newcastle on the map. But it all fell through and I massively regret that," he says.

Instead, he had to be content in 1996 with buying the old post office, changing the group's name to Red Box Design in the process. "It was our code name when we were trying to buy the property and we kept it. I wanted to take my name out of it, because practices named after people can die when that person dies. I wanted to leave a legacy."

Fuse Box, a new media design company, was added to the group four years ago.

To date, the group has designed and built £2bn worth of commercial and residential developments.

Mr Smith's passion for art has become legendary.

He retains a social conscience and launched his bursary programme last year. It supports applied arts and fine art A-level students through the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, and university when family income cannot meet the costs.

He was a board member of Northern Arts for five years and was the founding chairman of Baltic.

Future additions to his company's stable include Red Box Product Design, a furniture company, and Horse Box, to provide units for new businesses.

His drive is catching; his 50 "imaginers", as he calls them, are full of ideas and energy.

"Good design is design that fits economically, ergonomically and aesthetically. Good design will always be good design and it doesn't cost a penny more.

"I'm proud to say that for the Northern Rock project, not one material in a £97m building came from further than 50 miles away. Two million bricks came from Throckley, for instance."

He really is a local lad through and through.

* For more information on the Entrepreneurs' Forum, visit www.entrepreneursforum.net