Flats in what may be Britain’s strangest tower block have a cottage built on top in a bizarre design.
The timber-clad building looms over Middlesbrough’s former dockland, radically different from anything built in the town.
The Community In A Cube (CIAC), the brainchild of the late architect Will Alsop, has been dividing opinion since it opened to its first occupants in 2012.
The main body of the building comprises flats built in a three sided block with large windows and dark wooden cladding.
However it’s the top floor that commands the attention, because sitting on top of the eight story block are what appear to be light grey and white painted clapboard houses.
One local said: ‘You’d think some crazy spaceship had just landed there one day, it looks like nothing you’ve ever seen.’
MailOnline took a trip up the escalator in CIAC to the top floor to take a closer look.
Flats in what may be Britain’s strangest tower block have a cottage built on top in a bizarre design
The top floor commands the attention, because sitting on top of the eight story block are what appear to be houses
The timber-clad building looms over Middlesbrough’s former dockland, radically different from anything built in the town with what appears to be a bright blue cottage
The first thing that strikes visitors is the view across the town and out towards the Cleveland Hills, with the 1,049ft Roseberry Topping dominating the skyline like a mini version of the Matterhorn.
The second is that the outside of the building has seen better days, with the cladding fading and in some places missing altogether.
And the third is that these ‘houses in the sky’ are actually not houses at all, they are two rows of flats, covered by a facade which from the ground gives an entirely different impression.
When CIAC opened its doors, the apartments were marketed as the perfect homes for young tech professionals working in an array of new businesses set to open on the former docks, which is now known as MIddlehaven.
For a variety of reasons ‘Teesside’s Silicon Valley’ is yet to materialise and many of the flats are now rented out by social housing landlord Thirteen Group.
One resident told MailOnline: ‘It looks very modern and quite impressive from the outside but once you get in things start to get a bit tatty.
Will Alsop’s original vision for Middlehaven could have been considered ‘really cool’
These ‘houses in the sky’ are actually not houses at all, they are two rows of flats, covered by a facade which from the ground gives an entirely different impression
The main body of the building comprises flats built in a three sided block with large windows and dark wooden cladding
Local dog walker Peter Carey said the building looks ‘out of place’
‘One problem we have is with the pigeons that roost in the pipes over the walkways and [waste] all over the floor.
‘Also when it’s windy it can get a bit creaky because the outside of the building is all wood and glass and you start to worry about being blown away.
‘Apart from that it’s good. The views are nice and you’re sort of in town, but just outside town as well. It’s also handy for the Riverside Stadium if you’re a Boro fan.
‘The thing is, there’s nothing else here. No shops, no bars. It could have been really cool but the money dried up.’
Will Alsop’s original vision for Middlehaven could have been considered ‘really cool.’
The colourful designs were striking – not only were there houses in the sky, there was to be a snow centre, an office block that looked like a pile of jenga bricks and another pineapple-shaped building likened to ‘Marge Simpson’s hairdo.’
There would be a hotel that appeared to be modelled on the children’s game Kerplunk and a cinema that looked a bit like a Rubik’s Cube.
Sadly as the financial landscape changed in the noughties, Alsop’s 2004 technicolour vision for the dockland never got off the ground – apart from the CIAC building.
Now it stands alone at the end of a weed-covered path with overgrown grass reaching knee height in parts on the empty land around it.
The Community In A Cube (CIAC), the brainchild of the late architect Will Alsop, has been dividing opinion since it opened to its first occupants in 2012
Community in a Cube flats in Middlesborough, has been causing a stir on social media recently
Sunny Johra, 46, was visiting friends in Middlesbrough and said the block was eye-catching
And 12 years after it first appeared on Middlesbrough’s skyline, it is still getting mixed reviews from locals and visitors alike.
A recent picture of the complex posted on X started the debate all over again, as the poster said they drove past it every week and ‘it constantly does my head in.’
Some observers loved it, with one posting: ‘I wouldn’t want to live there but what a great idea. Love looking at it when I drive past. They were filming UP and had to land on there as the balloons got shot out by the locals.’
Another likened it to ‘an extreme loft extension’ while a third said bluntly: ‘Looks bloody ridiculous.’
Peter Carey, 61, grew up in the adjoining St Hilda’s area of Middlesbrough as a child in the 1960s, a district locals called ‘over the Border’ after the A66 separated it from the rest of the town.
Walking his dog along the deserted walkway that passes CIAC, Peter said: ‘There were such big plans for this area, it’s such a shame that they never came to anything, it would have been great for the town.
‘Now this one building is standing on its own when it should have been surrounded by so many different businesses.
‘You have this place, Middlesbrough college behind it and the Riverside Stadium and that’s it, apart from some offices. It looks a bit out of place, standing here on its own.
‘I remember this area when it was completely different. I grew up nearby and when we were kids you used to come and play in the old docks. These days I just come for dog walks.’
Philip Cockerill, 52, said: ‘I like it, it;s really distinctive and something the town should feel quite proud of.
‘It was designed by a really renowned architect who built amazing buildings in places such as Amsterdam. It’s a shame it’s not looking its best any more, it’s a little dilapidated.’
Sunny Johra, 46, was visiting friends in Middlesbrough from his home in King’s Cross, London.
He said: ‘I was just taking a walk to the football ground and was walking past the building. It certainly catches your eye because you don’t expect to see houses all the way up there.
‘I quite like it actually because how often do you see something that is really different? Most of the time our buildings all look the same.’
Groundsman John Jenks from rural Wolsingham, Country Durham, has got used to the building now after first seeing it when he started work in the grounds of neighbouring Middlesbrough College.
He said: ‘When I first saw it I thought ‘well I’ve never seen anything like that anywhere before.’ It makes you stop and look and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
‘We build a lot of square buildings that look the same and this one has something a bit more distinctive about it.’
Paul Rea, 45, was less impressed. ‘It looks like something from the old Soviet Union, ‘ he said.
Another local likened it to ‘an extreme loft extension’ while a third said bluntly: ‘Looks bloody ridiculous’
Sarah Johnstone’s office overlooks the flats, and she says she likes them
‘It’s a bit desperate, a bit like the people of Middlesbrough who live every day with the drugs and the out of control crime and the stabbings. You can see the hopelessness in people’s eyes.
‘I’d tear the whole town down – including that – and start all over again.’Â
Sarah Johnstone, 43, is a repairs teams leader at Thirteen group, whose offices look across to CIAC.
She said: ‘I love it, I think it’s novel and beautiful and offers something really different to your standard block of flats.
‘I actually love working here in this area and I think that building enhances the place.
‘It’s nice to work by the water and look across at it. We also have wildlife living at Middlehaven as well. There’s a seal, which we’ve christened Sally and there are also swans. It’s a lovely place to work.’
Meanwhile, Middlesbrough hasn’t given up on Middlehaven. There is no longer any talk of giant skyscrapers with helipads and a Silicon Valley sucking talent from the larger cities to the north and south.
Instead a more modest approach was mooted in the most recent vision of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation.
Of Middlehaven, it says: ‘It is the town’s greatest opportunity to craft an area of culture, education and leisure, with homes and community at the heart.’
One idea is for ‘an innovative internationally-recognised leisure venue between Middlesbrough College and the Riverside Stadium’ which would mean the ‘Houses in the Sky’ – love them or hate them – would at least no longer be standing in splendid isolation.