Sage makes top 10 of England’s finest

May 9 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

NORTH music venue The Sage Gateshead has been named as one of the best buildings of the last 100 years in England in a well-recognised travel guide.

The iconic Gateshead structure has been listed as one of the top 10 in the country by the Rough Guide to England, despite only being constructed three and a half years ago.

It is cited alongside more traditional feats of architecture, including the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, built in 1935, the Tate Modern in London from 1948 and even the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, which dates back to 1904.

The Rough Guide reads: “The Sage Gateshead is an extraordinary billowing steel, aluminium and glass concert hall complex, best seen at night when it glows with many colours.

“The public concourse provides marvellous river and city views.”

Since its opening in December 2004, The Sage has made a significant impact on the redevelopment in the Gateshead Quays. Leader of Gateshead Council, Coun Mick Henry, said: “We are naturally proud of it, not just for its architectural merit but also for its place in the cultural revolution which has taken place in the North East over the last decade or so.

“While The Sage Gateshead is blessed with a prominent location right in the heart of the Tyne gorge and an eye-catching design, I believe it is the engagement with local people which truly makes it stand out. This has succeeded in turning a quays area, which was almost unused, into one of the most vibrant and talked about places in the country.”

In a separate list, four North East attractions make the grade for the 35 things not to miss in England.

Readers are encouraged to “lock up their inhibitions, leave their coats at home and hit the Toon” to celebrate Newcastle’s nightlife.

Meanwhile, Hadrian’s Wall is described as the “most enduring and atmospheric reminder of the 50-year Roman period which stretches from coast to coast through dramatic northern English countryside”.

And Northumberland National Park provides the opportunity to “explore the wilds of England’s least-known and most remote national park”.

But to “discover more of England’s long and turbulent past” readers should “pay a visit to one of the country’s many castles – like Alnwick in Northumberland, which also boasts England’s most enterprising modern garden”.

Mark Thomas, from the Rough Guides team, believes that these attractions are the pick of North East destinations. He said: “The North’s main strength, apart from the obvious in its people and stunning countryside, is its accessibility and diversity.”

The Sage Gateshead

THE SAGE cost £70m, took 4,000 construction workers more than two million man-hours to build and created more than 400 jobs when it opened in December 2004.

Its iconic curved roof is made from 3,000 stainless steel panels with 250 sheets of glass in the building.

Inside the structure there are three concert halls, a music education centre, a cafe and bars.

At its tallest point, the building is more than 40 metres high and its "footprint" is more than 8,000 square metres, the equivalent of 20 basketball courts. It was designed following extensive consultation with audiences and musicians, by Sir Norman Foster.

Architectural beauties

The 10 best buildings in England from the last 100 years, according to the Rough Guide:

:: Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool, 1904-78

:: Senate House, Bloomsbury, London, 1932

:: De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, 1935

:: Tate Modern, London, 1948-63 & 2000

:: Coventry Cathedral, 1951-59

:: Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, London, 1995

:: Eden Project, Cornwall, 2001

:: Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, 2002

:: 30 St Mary Axe, London ("The Gherkin"), 2004

:: The Sage Gateshead, 2004