Sunderland Civic Centre
{{Short description|Municipal building in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name =Sunderland Civic Centre
| native_name =
| image =Sunderlandciviccentre2.jpg
| caption = Sunderland Civic Centre
| locmapin =Tyne and Wear
| map_caption =Shown in Tyne and Wear
| coordinates ={{coord|54.9013|N|1.3822|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location =Sunderland
| area =
| built =1970
| architect = Spence Bonnington & Collins
| architecture =Modern style
| governing_body =
| website=
}}
Sunderland Civic Centre was a municipal building in the Burdon Road in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It was the headquarters of Sunderland City Council until November 2021.
History
The building was commissioned to replace Sunderland Town Hall which by the 1960s, was considered too small. Civic leaders decided to procure a new civic centre: the site they selected had previously been occupied by a residential area known as West Park.{{cite web|url=https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/439771/556543/12/100954 |title=Ordnance Survey Map|year=1955|accessdate=20 November 2020}} Construction of the civic centre started in January 1968.{{cite web|url= https://canmore.org.uk/site/284670/tyne-and-wear-sunderland-sunderland-civic-centre|title= Sunderland Civic Centre|publisher=Canmore| access-date=20 November 2020}} It was designed by Spence Bonnington & Collins in the Modern style, built at a cost of £3.4 million and was officially opened by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon on 5 November 1970.{{cite web|url=https://www.sunderlandecho.com/heritage-and-retro/retro/13-golden-memories-sunderland-it-looked-1970-how-many-scenes-do-you-remember-2506122|title= Thirteen golden memories of Sunderland as it looked in 1970 - but how many scenes do you remember?|date=23 March 2020|publisher=Sunderland Echo| access-date=20 November 2020}}{{cite web|url= http://durham-images.org/public/cemeteries/lsl/lssl07.html|title=Sunderland Local Studies Stock List|publisher=Durham Images|accessdate=20 November 2020}}
The design for the new low-rise building, which made extensive use of red brick, involved two connected hexagons arranged on a north–south axis: there were continuous rows of glazing with brickwork above and below on each of the floors throughout the complex.{{cite web|url=https://c20society.org.uk/buildings-at-risk/sunderland-civic-centre|title=Buildings at Risk: Sunderland Civic Centre|publisher=20th Century Society|accessdate=20 November 2020}} The civic suite, which contained the council chamber, jutted out of the main building to the south west. The windows in the building had metal curtains which were inspired by those in the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York which rippled from the air released from concealed ventilation ducts.{{Cite web|title=Tourist In Your Own Town No. 40 - The Four Seasons Restaurant|publisher=New York Landmarks|date=23 June 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_2yhWBRUdE|access-date=20 November 2020}} The design received a gold award from the Royal Institute of British Architects as well as a Civic Trust Award.
The building continued to serve as the headquarters of Sunderland Borough Council and became the local seat of government of the enlarged Sunderland Metropolitan District Council in 1974.{{cite book|title=Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70|publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd|isbn=0-10-547072-4|year=1997}} After Sunderland received city status in 1992,{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/sunderland.html|title=A History of Sunderland|work=Local Histories|accessdate=20 November 2020}} Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the civic centre and unveiled the city's new coat of arms on 18 May 1993.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/court-circular-2323830.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/court-circular-2323830.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Court Circular|publisher=The Independent|date=19 May 1993|accessdate=20 November 2020}}
A large stained glass window, designed by Dan Savage to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the UK miners' strike, was installed above the entrance to the council chamber and unveiled by the general secretary of the Durham Miners' Association, David Hopper, on 5 March 2010.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/8550984.stm|title=Sunderland memorial to miners' strike unveiled|date=5 March 2010|publisher=BBC|accessdate=20 November 2020}}
The local authority said the civic centre was too big and extensive to maintain: it proposed demolition of the civic centre and re-use of the site for housing.{{Cite web|url=https://c20society.org.uk/buildings-at-risk/sunderland-civic-centre|title=Sunderland Civic Centre – The Twentieth Century Society|website=c20society.org.uk|access-date=7 October 2021}} Consequently, in October 2019 construction work commenced on a new City Hall on the former Vaux Breweries site.{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5937c730-61d0-11e9-a27a-fdd51850994c|title= Why struggling English councils are spending millions on new offices|date=8 May 2019|publisher=Financial Times| accessdate=20 November 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/sunderland-city-hall/65798/ |title=B+K wins £42m Sunderland City Hall contract|date=23 October 2019|publisher=PBC Today| accessdate=20 November 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/10/23/bk-wins-42m-landmark-sunderland-civic-hall/|title=B+K wins £42m landmark Sunderland civic hall|date=23 October 2019|publisher=Construction Enquiror| accessdate=20 November 2020}} In January 2021 The Guardian listed the Civic Centre as one of Britain's Brutalist buildings most at risk of demolition and development. It was included in Brutal North: Post-War Modernist Architecture in the North of England, Simon Phipps's photographic study of Brutalist architecture.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jan/03/destruction-brutalist-architecture-north-england-outcry|title=Destruction of brutalist architecture in north of England prompts outcry|author=Lanre Bakare|date=3 January 2020|work=The Guardian|accessdate=3 January 2020}} Demolition of the civic centre began in October 2022.{{cite web |last1=Cutler |first1=Georgina |title=See demolition of Sunderland Civic Centre begin to make way for 265 new homes to be built |url=https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/people/see-demolition-of-sunderland-civic-centre-begin-to-make-way-for-265-new-homes-to-be-built-3884578 |website=Sunderland Echo |access-date=30 September 2023}}
Notes
{{notelist}}