1-37 Clive Place

This is a group of terraced patio houses located at 1-37 Clive Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, built between 1975 and 1978 as part of the Byker Estate redevelopment. The design was by Ralph Erskine's Arkitektkontor, with Vernon Gracie as site architect and White, Young and Partners as structural engineers, and Shepherds Construction Ltd as the main contractor. The houses are constructed primarily of pale metric modular (large) brick with an internal timber frame, with the entrance fronts and gable ends clad in blue timber, red-brown to numbers 1-9. Concrete quoins feature on the walls, and the steeply sloping roofs are covered in blue metal sheeting supported by plywood box beam purlins.

Each house has an ‘L’ shaped plan arranged around a private entrance patio, enclosed by the adjacent unit and an integral front wall. The north-facing entrance level is single-storey, while the south-facing garden side is two-storey. Entrance doors are positioned on the side of the low wing of the patio frontage. Numbers 7-9 are two-storey throughout, with brick sheds providing shelter to the doors, and have turquoise metal roofs and brown timber cladding. A pergola is present at both the front and back of number 37. Windows are aluminium sliding sashes within timber surrounds. First-floor windows to the garden front feature long, narrow additional windows beneath a prominent sill band, painted brown to contrast with the green cladding. Trellis work on fencing is extended as pergolas across the pedestrian walkways. Dark brown gates are provided, along with a stand for milk.

The interior layout is understood to be unusual, reminiscent of the work of Atelier 5, known for their low-rise hillside housing in Basle in 1959.

Dunn Terrace, the most westerly and detached section of the Byker Estate, sits between branches of the taller Byker Wall. The preserved landscape demonstrates Erskine's concept of a high, sheltering perimeter wall to the north, separating the estate from the road and metro and creating a sheltered microclimate on the south side. The layout of terraces and pedestrian walkways distinguishes Dunn Terrace from other areas of the estate, which feature two-storey houses and squares. The strong use of colour is a characteristic element of Erskine's design vocabulary and has been well maintained by the local authority.

Historical and source information is available under the listing for 1-75 Dunn Terrace.