The Angle Ring Company Ltd has once again helped bring architectural visions to life, this time supporting the development of the highly anticipated Culture House Sunderland. This multi-million-pound venue, set to open its doors in Autumn, will be a striking addition to the Sunderland skyline, located in the heart of Keel Square. Designed by FaulknerBrowns, the Culture House is set to become a central feature in the wider Riverside Sunderland regeneration masterplan. A standout feature of the four-story building is The Atrium, an expansive open-plan space designed to act as a living room for the public, providing a place for people to meet, relax, and enjoy various events. Spanning the full height of the building from ground floor to roof, the Atrium will showcase cutting-edge digital screens, offering immersive storytelling, digital art, and live performance streaming. Angle Ring’s involvement in this landmark project came in the form of the Helical Staircase, a vital element of the building’s design. MCJ Fabrications, who are fabricating the whole staircase, partnered with us to supply the precision-bent steel plates for the staircase balustrade. We were tasked with bending 22 separate 10mm thick steel plates, each measuring up to 5500mm in length and weighing as much as 600kg. Each rolled plate was meticulously bent to precise angles: the inner plates to a steep 33.8° pitch and the outer plates to a more gentle 16.3° pitch. The total weight of the material used for the balustrade was around 10.5 tonnes, demonstrating the scale and precision required for the project. The curved vertical balustrade plates, also referred to as stringers, serve as the main balustrade around the staircase, offering both function and a striking visual element to the structure once complete. Angle Ring’s expert bending capabilities have once again proven crucial in helping turn an ambitious architectural design into reality, and we are proud to be part of such a significant cultural development in Sunderland as part of the ongoing Riverside regeneration.

Project Facts

Architect – FaulknerBrowns Steelwork Contractor – MJC Fabrications Ltd Steel Bending Engineers – The Angle Ring Company Ltd Client – Sunderland City Council / Culture House Sunderland Location – Keel Square, Sunderland, UK

Angle Ring scope of work

Plate Rolling Spiral & Helical Bending *On site photographs courtesy of MCJ Fabrications Ltd **CGI imagery by FaulknerBrown