Corby Cube
April 2011: Hawkins\Brown’s striking glazed Corby Cube, the focal point of
a major regeneration programme to revitalise the former steel making town
in Northants, UK has completed and is now open to the public. Won in international competition in 2004, the Corby Cube combines a
diverse programme of civic and arts uses into a new model for civic
architecture.
Maximising its central location at the heart of a new town square, the
building’s array of uses are arranged around an internal ‘promenade
architecturale’ composed into a coherent glazed cube form with four ‘live’
elevations, each articulating the uses contained within. Commissioned by Corby Borough Council, the Corby Cube is part of a
wider regeneration strategy driven by North Northants Development
Company to revitalise Corby as a vibrant, confident and attractive town to
live, work, visit, shop and do business.
Not since Corby’s expansion in 1950 when it was afforded New Town
status has the town benefitted from such investment. Recent developments
include the arrival of the town’s first railway station and the opening of a
new Olympic sized public swimming pool on the site adjacent to the Cube.
The two buildings sit within a new landscaped town square that links the
former town centre to historic woodland in the West and promises to
become the new social heart of Corby town centre.
At a time of spending reviews and central funding cuts the Cube represents
a model for how local authorities can address financial challenges through
the consolidation and streamlining of their services. The competition brief
originally called for two buildings; a civic hub and an arts centre, which
together would mark a gateway between the town centre and the parkland
beyond. Hawkins\Brown’s innovative response was to combine these two
briefs into a single building. This proposal provided multiple benefits in
terms of sharing common facilities and infrastructure to realise savings in
capital and running costs, the fostering of synergetic relationships between
the various users, whilst also freeing up a further site for redevelopment.
The resultant 7,700 sq m building features a mix of facilities including:
• A 450-seat theatre with front of house foyers and bars
• A multifunctional studio space
• A ground floor Café
• A modern well-equipped Library
• Corby Borough Council One-Stop-Shop and civic offices
• Council Chamber which provides a marriage venue for civil ceremonies
• Terraced Roof Garden with adjacent exhibition space or restaurant
Corby Cube breaks the tradition of a formal town hall situated at the head of
the town square and is instead located in the centre of the new square with
four active fronts. An external envelope of black and reflective glass gives
the building its characteristic glistening object-like form. Each elevation is
distinctively articulated within this: the North elevation is animated by the
projected transparent glazed entrance foyer; the East elevation by a double-
height window into the council chamber; a cantilevered reading room
projects out of the first floor of the South elevation providing shade to café’;
and the West elevation expresses the library within. The pure form of the
building is unobstructed by service entrances and plant which are
contained in a below ground undercroft.
Treating the roof as a fifth elevation, generous public roof terraces on the
building’s upper levels are planted with full-size trees and feature sedum
and brown roofs to enhance the site’s ecology.
All facilities are arranged around an internal route coiled inside the cube
form, allowing access for all. Many facilities have a ground floor presence
and are inextricably linked, arranged around a continuous route, which rises
from the foyer through the building and culminates in a helical stair leading
to the rooftop terrace. The building combines uses to ensure activity around
the clock, from early morning visitors to the library and café to late night
performances in the theatre.