Alan J Smith
Chairman

As Founder and Chairman of Red Box Design Group Ltd, Alan has been at the forefront of business expansion over the past 20 years, overseeing the opening and operation of offices in London and Amsterdam, and the establishment of interior design and new media design services, as well as founding the Red Box Gallery.

Alan’s basic philosophy is that good design will always be good design and that it does not cost a penny more than bad design. His passion has been, and remains, a desire to surround himself with energetic capable individuals who share that passion and who want to take Red Box Design Group into the intellectual pantheon that will be the 21C.

Quality, design, commitment and personal service are the maxims which sustain Alan’s key role in managing the Red Box Design Group.

• OBE 2007
• Fellow of Chartered Society of Designers FCSD 1992
• Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA 1976
• Architects Registration Board ARB 1975
• University of Newcastle Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) 1974
• University of Newcastle Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (Hons) 1971

In every project Alan’s involvement is in the detail of the concept and the concept of the detail. He therefore takes a keen interest in all projects across the residential, commercial, industrial and retail sectors. He has had an active and specific involvement in the following projects:

• Clayton Street West Development
  261 City Centre mixed tenure apartments, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• Northern Rock plc
  750,000 sq ft campus office development, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• Energy Centres
  285 shops for British Gas from concept to completion, throughout the UK.
• Mast House Terrace
  182 mixed tenure apartments and houses, London Docklands.
• Westerpark Competition
  Landscaping and new uses for derelict utility site, Amsterdam.
• Middlehaven
  City centre office campus around a 10 acre water basin.
• Nissan European Technology Centre
  150,000 sq ft Design and Styling studios, research and development facility, Cranfield, Bedfordshire.
• Almere Haven Redevelopment
  Mixed residential and supermarket development and refurbishment of new town shopping malls, Almere, The Netherlands.
• Red Box Development
  100,000 sq ft mixed use multi-faceted urban regeneration, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• Knowledge Campus
  500,000 sq ft Science and R&D campus, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• LGE Goldstar
  400,000 sq ft manufacturing plant for microwaves and televisions, Washington New Town.
• Baltic Business Park
  New urban office quarter forming part of the Gateshead Quays redevelopment - 1.5million sq ft.
• Spirit of Light
  445,000 sq ft commercial and leisure development, Stadium Park, Sunderland
• Gateshead College
  New college on an urban site at the Baltic Business Park adjacent to Gateshead Town Centre and the Gateshead Quays - 150, 000 sq ft.
• Elvet Waterside
  Mixed Use urban village in the centre of the Cathedral City, Durham.  

Publications and Lectures

• The Knowledge Campus
  Mind to Market, Red Box Design Group, Newcastle upon Tyne - January 2000.
• Going for Growth
  Scoping the future of Newcastle upon Tyne, Vermont Hotel, Newcastle upon Tyne - October 1999.
• The Office of the Future
  Eversheds Solicitors, Newcastle upon Tyne - March 1999.
• Retail Roll-Outs
  Northern Electric Lecture, Newcastle upon Tyne - September 1998.
• Are Our Cities In Decline
  The Rothschild Lecture, Guildhall, Newcastle upon Tyne - February 1997.
• Retail Fit-Outs
  International Shopping Centre Conference, Lisbon - March 1997.
• Urban Renaissance
  Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Cafe Royal, London - October 1996.
• Young Foresight
  The future lies in the hands of the next generation. Launch of Young Foresight - March 2002.

Complementary Interests

Alan is the Honorary Founding Chairman of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art which opened in 2002 as the largest art space outside of London. He also chairs FUSEBOXDESIGN Ltd and Great North Art Affair Ltd.