THE demolition of a landmark North-East factory was a nostalgic moment for the man in charge of its downfall, as he paid tribute to his late father, who helped design the building a decade ago.

Project manager Jonathan Ryder works for Quorum Developments LLP, which recently demolished the former Viasystems printed circuit board factory, in North Tyneside, to make way for an office development.

His father, Gordon Ryder, was one of the founders of Newcastle architects Ryder HKS.

The Quorum development, at Balliol Business Park East, will comprise 1.5 million sq ft of office space on the 47-acre site and create up to 12,500 jobs over the next eight to ten years.

It has taken 18 weeks to demolish the factory, which involved salvaging thousands of tons of galvanised steel from the interior.

Mr Ryder said: "I do not think of the demolition as destroying my father's work, because all commercial buildings have a lifespan, and the factory had had its day.

"We are retaining the parts of the structure that we believe have any architectural significance. The largest part of the factory was purely functional and was more like a very sophisticated shed."

Published: 03/08/2004