The documentary
team followed the company as they demolished blocks of flats at Whinmoor
in east Leeds.
In Post-War Britain architects considered high rise housing to be
the answer to the country’s housing problem.
 |
| The
tower collapsing |
Now
many tower blocks have become untenable.
There is a glut of council housing stock and some flats have become
havens for crime and drug dealing.
Across the country there are some 500 tower blocks that will be
demolished over the next 20 years.
Gravity
Controlled Demolition have become one of the country’s leading demolition
firms.
The
Company’s MD Charles Moran said: "Gravity is a wonderful thing -
and what you’ve got to do is allow gravity to work.
 |
| A
camera ready to capture the demolition. |
"Most
buildings are designed to resist gravity - it’s our job to identify
the bits that are doing the resisting."
Chief
explosives engineer Dick Green tells the programme: "There’s hasn’t
been a book written about how much explosives to put into a building.
"Every building is different. We use explosives like a tool."
It
has been a sensitive time to be an explosives engineer following
events in New York on September 11 2001.
Mr
Green says: "Pilots have gone back into jets, city traders have
gone back into office blocks and explosive enigineers have continued
to bring down buildings. Life has to go on."
You
can watch video of the Whinmoor flats being demolished by clicking
on the video option at the top of this page.
|
