Landmark HQ that is an exemplar, socially enriching and accessible space
RIBA North East Award winner 2021
Client of the Year Award
Ryder Architecture for Tombola
Contract value: £8m
GIA: 2,485m2
Cost per m2: £3,219
Staff retention and attraction was key for this major Sunderland employee, and the firm wanted a landmark HQ that would be an exemplar, socially enriching and accessible space. Tombola House sits on the Quayside, half a mile north east of Sunderland city centre, on the banks of the River Wear within the Old Sunderland Riverside Conservation Area, extending the existing Rose Line warehouse building. The new design echoes the old; familiar yet different with a minimal palette of brick, glass, steel and oak. The linear bricks are a nod to the area’s past handmade craftsmanship and reflect the colours of Lowry’s 1960s dockside paintings of the area. Widely used internally, they offer a strong interior design aesthetic – all topped off with a lovely oak-lined slatted pitched roof soffit.