"Killingworth Towers was built as a Brutalist Utopian vision in 1969-1970, but within 17 years were demolished, labelled a failure. My earliest memories are of these 'streets in the sky'. 

 

Being partially-sighted I see form over detail, and growing up in a national housing experiment amongst such bold, geometric, abstract architecture has proved artistically formative for me.  System built deck-access was key to post-War regeneration but very controversial; of 63,000 units, more than 25% were demolished by 1995. 

 

The first residents were described as ‘pioneers of living’ and 50 years since construction began the Towers still divide opinion...

  

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Made possible with funding from Arts Council England, we've been able to create a digital model of Killingworth Towers.  We meticulously reverse-engineered from original architect's drawings, archive photos and memories and have now made a number of new works, including 2D and 3D VR.

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When circumstances allow we'll progress to part 2 of the project where we'll further explore Killy Towers through the memories of people who lived in and around them.

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See some photos of Killingworth Towers on the Something Concrete + Modern website

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