The magnitude of the Derby Street multis demolition became evident as the dust lifted on the former site of Dundee’s two tallest buildings.
All 22 storeys of Bucklemaker and Butterburn Courts came crashing to the ground on Sunday afternoon in controlled explosions watched by thousands of onlookers on the ground and probably millions on the internet and on television.
The ability of specialist contractors Safedem to topple the buildings on to two hemmed-in gaps in a densely built-up area was impressive, as was evident by the mountains of debris which overshadowed Strathmartine Road.
The towers missed St Martin’s Episcopal Church, squeezed into the strip of land between them, although rubble did strike the corner of the church hall.
The top section of Butterburn Court struck the housing in Russell Place, although that was intended and these dwellings have already been emptied for demolition.
William Sinclair, managing director Safedem, said the company was working on repairs to the minor damage to the church hall which they hope to complete in the next few days.
“I am disappointed that we caused some minor damage to the rear fire escape of the church, as we set ourselves very high standards,” he said.
“The minor damage will be repaired and Safedem are fully committed to do this in the quickest time period possible.
“We have worked with the church every step of the way throughout the project so far and we really appreciate their understanding and patience.”
The company anticipated the debris would come down very close to the church, and installed a scaffold screen as protection.
He said: “The screen did its job and we were pleased to see there was no structural damage to the main church building.”
Butterburn was designed to drop vertically with the top rotating to the south away from the church towards Russell Place, and as these properties are scheduled for demolition any damage was of no concern.
The massive cloud of dust produced by the demolition also cleared, leaving contractors to press on with the clear-up a task that will take up to 20 weeks.