The Common Room, Neville Hall, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Opening festival marks launch of engineering and innovation hub

Thanks to National Lottery players, one of Newcastle’s most significant historic buildings is set to reopen this month, with a festival that will celebrate the North East’s reputation for pioneering engineering achievements.

Formerly known as The Mining Institute where some of the greatest innovators in the world once gathered the building will soon open its doors following a two-year refurbishment and be renamed The Common Room after receiving a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £5,050,000.

Constructed between 1869 and 1872 the building provided a headquarters for The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, which addressed safety issues in mines and promoted research and learning in the fields of mining and engineering.

Bringing together the business community, artists, families and young engineers, The Common Room’s opening festival will celebrate all that is great about engineering and innovation in the North East, both in the past, today and into the future.

On the evening of Thursday 22 July, the events begin with a live streaming of Engineering The Common Room, a panel discussion revealing how this 19th century Grade II listed building had its historic features preserved and its facilities brought up to date to create a venue which tells the story of the great minds which once gathered there.

The opening will also be marked with the unveiling of a new artwork, titled The Polymorphic Carbon Library. Created by local artists Charles Danby and Rob Smith, the installation uses the molecular structure of carbon to create an interactive artwork which captures live data readings showing the levels of carbon around it, and incorporates artefacts from The Common Room’s collection, which is one of the most important collections of mining engineering materials anywhere in the world.

The Polymorphic Carbon Library

On Friday 30 July and Saturday 31 July, artist Steve Mayes will host a LEGO takeover, with workshops and talks revealing how he put together a scale model of The Common Room using 30,000 LEGO bricks, including those which carry special dedications to members of the public who have supported the legacy of The Common Room.

From Monday 16 August to Friday 20 August, live science shows by The Rock Showman will inspire young minds, while The Common Room’s maker space will host a dino-dig, where young visitors can unearth fossils and learn about geology.

Also in August, businesses and engineering organisations will come together for a series of takeover days. Car parts manufacturer, Unipres, is one of the companies involved, helping the engineers of the future get hands-on with activities including virtual welding and holograms.

And throughout the opening festival, an exhibition celebrating world-changing engineering feats from the North East will be on show. Graft and Glory tells the story of how the North East has been at the forefront of the engineering industry, from the development of the first passenger railway in the 1800s, through to today’s renewable energy projects, and it shines a light on some of the female engineers whose stories have been overlooked in the past.

Admission to all events is free but places must be booked in advance. Find out more and book at www.thecommonroom.org.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Common Room .

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