was located just upstream of Dunston Staiths. Arts centre inception The opening of Baltic as a designated centre for contemporary art was part of the revitalisation and post-industrial regeneration of Gateshead's riverside. The regeneration began in the early 1990s and transformed the Quayside into a centre of modern architecture, including the Sage and Millennium Bridge. In 1991, Northern Arts (now part of Arts Council England) released a five-year plan in which it stated its intention to create "major new capital facilities for the Contemporary Visual Arts and Music in Central Tyneside". Northern Arts were keen to convert an old building into a centre for art, rather than build a new one, and the Labour-run Gateshead Council expressed interest in converting the old Flour Mills. This was in contrast to the Conservative-run Newcastle City Council's approach to development, which saw private firms develop mainly flats, hotels, and offices. Gateshead Council purchased the Baltic Flour Mills silo building, and in 1994 they invited the Royal Institute of British Architects to open a competition which would find an architect to design the new arts centre. Architecture In 1994, Gateshead Council invited the Royal Institute of British Architects to hold a competition to select a design for the conversion of the Baltic Flour Mills. The objective of the competition was to "provide a national and international Centre for Contemporary visual arts". The brief cited a number of similar examples of old buildings which had been converted into arts centres around the world, including a converted flour mill in Porto, Portugal and the Bankside Power Station in London (now the site of the Tate Modern). After evaluating a total of 140 entries, Dominic Williams – a relatively unknown architect who had only been working for three years – won the competition. He entered the competition with Ellis Williams Architects, his father's firm. Andrew Guest remarks that this "simple, honest, industrial" design was an example of architecture which recognised the designs and context of the past. Williams and Ellis Williams Architects stated their intention to "retain as much of the existing character and fabric of the building as possible" while also clearly presenting the structure's new purpose as an art gallery. The conversion of the flour mills was a complex and technically challenging task. The grain silos were removed, leaving the brick façades unsupported, and a 1,000 tonne steel frame was required to support the remaining