Students make sculpture from demolition site doors

The walkway was on display at the university before it was moved to an architects in Spon Street

University students have turned timber salvaged from the demolition of a 1970s car park into a public art sculpture.

The postgraduate Art Design and Architecture students at Coventry University used discarded door frames from the city's New Union Street car park which was demolished earlier this year.

For its Urban Mining Test Lab Project, the university said it worked for the first time with the Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre, which supports the advancement of sculpture in the UK.

The final piece - a walkway made from the doors - has gone on display at IDP Architects office in Spon Street, Coventry.

“Urban mining isn’t just a part of the course for our students, it is a positive response to achieving net zero carbon emissions and sustainable development goals," said Dr Tulika Gadakari, associate professor and curriculum lead in architecture.

"It involves going out into the urban environments such as building sites, looking at the material that is being discarded and thinking of ways it could be reused and repurposed."

Before the sculpture went on display in the architects' entrance gallery, it was on show in the university's Delia Derbyshire building, which is home to creative arts and society courses.

Other student projects were also on display at a recent showcase which saw speakers from the city council, Pangaea and other university departments discuss waste materials, urban mining and environmental values.