Elephant Building, Coventry

£40.00

Elephant Building, Coventry

1 reviews

A modernist landmark, finely detailed in concrete by Spaceplay.

Elephant Building, Coventry

Name: Elephant Building, Coventry
Brand: Spaceplay
SKU: MINI_031
Price: 40.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

£40.00

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Carry Coventry's civic pride in hand-cast concrete. Whether you trained beneath its roof or passed it on the ring road, celebrate a building brave enough to be different.

Made to order and shipped within 30 days

Designed and made in my UK studio

Comes gift-boxed for the perfect concrete gift

Express processing available for UK orders

Shipping

All Spaceplay models are made to order and are usually made and posted within 30 days.

All orders are sent using a tracked postal service, and you’ll receive tracking details once your model has been posted.

UK orders usually arrive within 3 working days after posting. International orders usually arrive within 8 working days after posting, although customs and local postal services can sometimes cause delays.

If you need your order for a specific date, please let me know before ordering and I’ll do my best to help.

UK customers can also select Express Shipping at checkout to have their model made and posted within 8 days.

Returns

You can return unused and undamaged items within 30 days of delivery for a refund, excluding return postage costs.

If your model arrives damaged, faulty, or incorrect, please email me within 14 days of delivery with your order number and photos of the issue. I’ll arrange a free replacement to be made and posted to you.

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Building Information

Location: Cox Street, Coventry, UK
Architect: Terence Gregory & Harry Noble (Coventry City Architects Department).
Completed: 1976.
Status: Closed since 2020; future under discussion.
Brief Overview:
Conceived as a dry-sports centre linked to the Grade II listed Central Baths, the Elephant Building was designed to span Cox Street, its north elevation forming the “head” while a glazed bridge connects to the baths as the “trunk.” Unlisted but widely championed, it remains a striking piece of Coventry’s civic landscape.

Making my concrete model

Some buildings take on a life of their own. The Elephant Building in Coventry is one of them. Designed as an extension to the Coventry Central Baths, it strides above Cox Street with a bold, zoomorphic profile and an enclosed link that locals call the elephant’s trunk. Strong planes, deep recesses, and a sculptural stance give it presence even when quiet.

I took my time with this one. The silhouette matters with the iconic head-and-ears elevation, the belly spanning the road, the rhythm of the façades. Translating that into a balanced miniature meant careful moulding work on proportions and shadows. Now it feels like the building I know.

A small cast of a Coventry original. Made to feel personal, whether you trained there, walked beneath it, or simply admired its character from the ring road. This piece holds a fragment of Coventry’s post-war ambition and a reminder that civic buildings can be brave, memorable, and part of daily life.

Elephant Building, Coventry

Coventry's Elephant Building is Brutalism with a sense of humour, and this Elephant Building miniature concrete model keeps the joke alive. Terence Gregory and Harry Noble of the City Architect's Department completed the sports centre in 1976. It spans Cox Street, with its north end reading as the elephant's head and the glazed bridge to the Central Baths as its trunk. It has been closed since 2020, and people are still arguing over its future. This concrete model of the Elephant Building makes that playful form easy to read at 6cm, a charming piece for a desk or shelf. It's for Coventry kids who played sport there, campaigners, architects and lovers of civic Brutalist architecture, and it's a gift that makes people smile. Each miniature concrete building is hand-cast in solid concrete, with its own texture and marks.