Sunderland Technical College

Now part of the University of Sunderland, this site was developed as the Technical College, where Higher Education was delivered from 1901. The post-war expansion of technical and technological education enabled the College to embark on an ambitious building plan from 1959, culminating in this block by Borough Architect, H.C. Bishop, opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1964. By 1969, the College had become Sunderland Polytechnic and went on to receive its chartered university status in 1992 with a host of other such institutions. The most striking part of the complex, was the hall, which served the adjoining hall of residence and the wider public. It is pictured here with its awkwardly poised ribs on show. The angled wall carried a sculptural frieze, Cosmos 2, by artist Mitzi Cunliffe who designed the BAFTA mask – its predecessor, Cosmos 1, is to be found at the foot of another hall of residence at Owens Park, Manchester. Sadly, the work was lost when the building was demolished. The whole ensemble is a bit post-Festival-funk – trying to bust out of the polite English interpretation of modernism, but not sure about how to do it, or how far to take it. A bit of a municipal mash-up.