The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Radio Mast for Police Headquarters, Aykley Heads, Durham
A beautiful Brutalist sculpture in concrete rises at Durham County Police Headquarters in the 1960s.
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Overview
A slender Modernist icon on the Durham City skyline, the elegant concrete County Police Communication Tower was designed by Ove Arup, one of the great twentieth century structural engineers and a bit of a dreamer. This technical film, aimed at planners and architects, records the radio masts construction between 1965 and 1968, built in the spirit of Harold Wilsons white heat of technology speech when a bright techno future was imagined for Britain.
Ove Nyquist Arup was born in Jesmond, Newcastle, in 1895. He pioneered the use of new materials in the built environment, the liquid stone of concrete his favourite. Ove Arup worked on many ground-breaking projects, such as the Sydney Opera House, the Barbican Centre in London, and the sweeping Byker Metro Bridge in Newcastle. In 2003 the Communication Tower at Aykley Heads in Durham was granted Grade II listed status by English Heritage. On his death in 1988, Ove Arups ashes were scattered from Durhams Kingsgate Bridge, which he considered to be his finest architectural achievement.
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