Sage Music Hall, Gateshead.

The Sage Gateshead is a landmark on Tyneside, forming the heart of an exiting project to revitalise the Newcastle / Gateshead’s river frontage. The building is adjacent to the Baltic Art Gallery, the Stirling Prize wining Millennium Bridge, and the Tyne Bridge, with its great arch echoing the shell-like form of the Sage’s roof.

It includes two auditoria with outstanding acoustics, a rehearsal space and a 25-room Music Education Centre - each conceived as a separate enclosure. The nature of the site suggested a covered concourse along the waterfront to link them. As a result the entire complex is sheltered beneath a broad, enveloping stainless steel roof that is 'shrink-wrapped' around the buildings beneath. This extends over the concourse, which acts as a foyer for the auditoria and hospitality areas for performers, audiences and students alike, offering amazing views out onto the Tyne.

I photographed the roof from inside and used it as a background to the circular walkways that surround the main concert hall. The walkway is in fact white, but the camera has struggled to replicate the colours and produced an artificial but pleasing interpretation. To achieve correctly colour balanced photographs, especially in mixed lighting situations, I should have manually adjust the white balance.