Top 10: 7. Ralph Erskine

Top: Inside face of Byker Wall

Above: Byker Wall facing the road.

Ralph Erskine was an iconic British-Swedish architect, best known for his work during the 1960's and 70's.

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Byker Wall, the large 1970's housing redevlopment in Newcastle, England, is probably Erskine's best-known project. This project showcases all the qualities most associated with him.

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The project was heavily participatory during the programming, and even design phases. Residents of the neighborhood, presumed to be moving into the new housing under design, participated in charettes and provided constant feedback to the design team.

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Erskine was meticulous in the integration of structures into their landscape, and Byker Wall is delightfully detailed in the manner in which buildings relate to one another and to the landscape. Relics of lost buildings, carved stone griffons and the like, were placed in otherwise plain walls of brick, and some were strewn about in selected parts of the landscape in the manner of ancient ruins.

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The project is strikingly clear and simple in the master plan - one side of the site's perimeter faces a busy and noisy road. Very effectively blocking the road noise from the rest of the site, the building mass is highest along that side of the project, and presents a largely unperforated brick wall to the road. Small windows, vent hoods and patterns of brick colors relieve the wall from monotony. Completely contrasting, the side of the building away from the road is delicate, with brightly-colored balconies and shed roofing composed in a seemingly whimsical, beautifully-scaled array.

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The further from the perimeter and the higher-trafficed streets and roads, the lower is the scale of the housing. A discussion of the project and the history of the site.

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Here is an overall site plan of the 635-unit neighborhood. A plan of an individual building is shown here.

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A remarkable flickr photo group maintains a large collection of Erskine projects. "bykercolin" would appear to be a resident, at any rate has taken a huge number of photos, with many very nicely composed shots showing real appreciation and affection for the place. I think it's well worth a look.