Spanish City Dining and Leisure Centre

Project: Spanish City Dining and Leisure Centre

Segment: Multi-purpose centre

Country/city: United Kingdom, North Tyneside

Architect:  Anita Chan, ADP Newcastle

Contractor: Rachael McGill, Robertson Construction

Ceiling contractor: Chris Jeavons, High Level Contracts

Photographer: Alan Green Photography 

Whitley Bay’s iconic Spanish City is remembered far and wide by generations of residents and holiday visitors. In summer 2018, it made a comeback as a leisure venue, following years of redevelopment work and a £10 million investment.

Spanish City, with its elegant rotunda with 75-foot dome, now hosts Christmas markets, a steak and seafood restaurant, traditional tearooms and a champagne bar, in addition to a myriad of private exhibitions and events such as weddings and birthdays.

Anita Chan of ADP Newcastle explained their approach: “We wanted to specify acoustic ceilings that helped to reduce the reverberation resulting from all the hard floors, walls and glass surfaces, making it an enjoyable and comfortable place for the visitors to sit and socialise. However, it was imperative that the installations complimented the period features of the Grade II Listed building.”

David Adams of Ecophon described the use of Ecophon products in the project: “As the jewel in the crown, it was vital that the rotunda (dome) became an enjoyable space to spend time. Without the Ecophon Solo installation, this visually appealing area would have been very reverberant and therefore not an ideal gathering space.“

“To address challenging acoustics in the dome, architects ADP Newcastle specified Solo Freedom. These panels had to be seamlessly aligned with the non-Ecophon heating radial panels. Perimeter installations of Focus Ds 1200 x 1200 were also made to the ground floor tea rooms and the St Marys Lighthouse Bar on the first floor.”

Anita added: “Working with Ecophon we were able to satisfy all requirements and ensured that the installations were in keeping with the budget.”

Chris Jeavons from ceiling contractors, High Level Contracts, subcontractors to Robertson Construction, fitted the Ecophon products in the dome itself and on the ground and first floors, as well as two function suites. They were used in many areas to hide the services. He said: “We’ve worked with Ecophon products for many years, so our installers are very familiar with the process. As always, the finished effect looks fantastic and has been received very favourably by the client.”