MEA House and the former office of Ryder and Yates listed
Great news yesterday that the North East has two new Grade II listed buildings – MEA House, Newcastle and the former office of Ryder and Yates, Killingworth . Both projects the work of local practice Ryder and Yates.
English Heritage described MEA House as:
An office building constructed to house multiple voluntary organisations together in a single building, was constructed in 1972-4 to the designs of Ryder and Yates. The building’s unique and innovative design incorporates a Vierendeel truss structural arrangement that dispenses with the need for columns, instead suspending the building slabs from deep beams in the penthouse and subframes. Ryder and Yates were one of the most important post-war regional firms in England and this building represents their first major building in Newcastle city centre and one of their most prominent works. It is believed to be the first purpose-built building to house multiple community service organisations under a single roof.
Along with Ryder and Yates MEA House, their former office in Killingworth was also listed. Dedicated work from Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust has brough this building to the attention with an ongoing campaign to repair and restore the building back into use. You can give a small donation here towards its preservation. English Heritage descibed the significance of the offices as:
Constructed in 1964-5 is an elegant building with strong architectural character derived by its clean crisp lines and sharp detailing. It was designed by Ryder and Yates, one of the most important post-war regional firms in England and is little altered both externally and internally. Its modernist single-storey pavilion form, which reuses the steel frame of a building Ryder & Yates designed for the 1962 London Olympia exhibition, provides an interesting reflection of the links between modern architecture and exhibition design, as well as showing the influence of Le Corbusier and Lubetkin on Ryder and Yates’ work.
Ryder and Yates Office under construction