Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park is an iconic concrete structure in Gateshead. Designed by Owen Luder, it is a prime example of Brutalist architecture. The structure has a prominent role in the 1971 film Get Carter, and is often referred to informally as the "Get Carter Car Park".
[edit] Description
Designed in 1962 when Brutalism was regarded as the cutting edge of architecture by the time that it opened in 1969 interest in the movement had begun to decline. The building's raw concrete weathered poorly and by the time Get Carter was filmed the following year, the car park had already become an emblem for decline.
The car park has seven tiers of parking decks. These are raised above the adjoining shopping centre by a "forest" of piloti columns. The decks on the north face have a slight curve creating a wave effect. There are two supporting towers containing stair access. Each level of car park is therefore uninterrupted so that when viewed from a distance the sky is visible through the structure. A cafe unit in a contrasting box structure sits above the top tier of the car park connected to the access towers by an expressed glazed 'bridge' and an open walkway. The cafe has large windows providing views across the Tyne Valley.
The developer was E.Alec Colman Investments Ltd who had also used Luder for their Tricorn Centre and construction was by the firm of Robert McAlpine. The car park was commissioned as part of the redevelopment of the established market square of Gateshead's town centre and hence is also referred to as the Inner Market Car Park. However the landscaping ultimately created an exposed and unattractive shopping precinct on two levels with poor access. While construction of the car park was in progress subsidence was noticed due to mineworkings. Additional work to reinforce the foundations and structure meant that the car park opened two years later than the centre. At the same time nearby Newcastle upon Tyne had begun the covered Eldon Square Shopping Centre and this further undermined the development. The roof top cafe failed to find a tenant and was deemed unsafe and never opened.
[edit] Depiction in Get Carter
The car park is the location of several key scenes in Get Carter and is often seen in the distance. Corrupt local businessman Cliff Brumby (Bryan Mosley) gives Jack Carter (Michael Caine) a tour of the incomplete roof top cafe, stating that he is in the process of developing it into a restaurant. Carter later confronts Brumby at the same location.
[edit] Demolition Plans
With the development of the MetroCentre commercial interest in the shopping centre continued to decline in the 1980s and changes to the local transport infrastructure made the already derelict car park largely redundant and the upper levels were closed. During the 1980s and 1990s there were various proposals to redevelop the Car Park as a contemporary art gallery or events venue but as the structure was regarded as a civic white elephant these all met with local resistance. The building remains unlisted and in the late 1990s Tesco acquired an interest in the site and have submitted proposals to clear the whole site and develop it as a hypermarket. However this proposal did not fit with Gateshead Council's aspirations. The building was featured in the Channel 4 series Demolition (television) in 2005. At the same time general interest in the Car Park has increased partly as a reflection of the recognition of Get Carter as a classic of British Cinema, with Sylvester Stallone lending his not inconsiderable weight to the calls for it to be preserved as a cinematic landmark.
