Derwent Tower, Dunston

Some buildings disappear from the skyline but remain firmly in the memory of a place. Derwent Tower stood above Dunston, near Gateshead, as one of the North East's most distinctive post-war landmarks. Designed by the Owen Luder Partnership for Whickham Council, construction began in 1968 and the tower opened in 1971. Its unusual profile quickly earned it the local nickname "Dunston Rocket", a name that stayed with it throughout its life.

Its form grew partly from the difficult ground beneath it. The 29-storey tower required an unusual sunken concrete caisson foundation and dramatic structural supports, helping create the powerful silhouette that made it unlike almost any other British tower block. Historic England described the building as unique in Britain, while its nickname reflected how strongly its shape entered local identity.

This model was about bringing that lost silhouette back into a physical form.
I wanted to capture the strong vertical tower, the change in form through the building, and the distinctive supports at its base. Getting those proportions right took careful scaling and refinement, particularly because so much of Derwent Tower's character came from its unusual structure rather than surface decoration.

A small cast that keeps the Dunston Rocket part of the skyline. Made for those who remember seeing the Rocket above Dunston, lived there, grew up with it on the horizon, or have discovered it through an interest in lost Brutalist architecture. It is a small way to hold onto a building that disappeared physically but remains part of the architectural and social memory of Tyneside.