A unique demolition project is scheduled to take place in Birmingham city centre this Sunday morning (May 8th) when Dalton and Lawrence Towers, two early 1970s student accommodation blocks, are felled in a brace of controlled demolitions at the University of Aston.

The double implosions are planned for sometime after 10:45am and will result in the closure of several roads and public thoroughfares in the area, including James Watt Queensway between Lancaster Circus and Newton Street. Lancaster Circus flyover will also be closed for a short while around 11:00am.

The 20-storey towers in Aston Street are coming down as part of a £300m campus redevelopment project which will see the construction of 1050 new student en-suite rooms expected to be ready for occupation by late 2012. The low level accommodation blocks which surrounded them have already been demolished.

Although three student residences will be evacuated while the demolition takes oplace and an exclusion zone established around the towers, up to 1,500 students are expected to watch the demolition on big screens, with the main university building and Guild of Students remained open. Meanwhile there should be several nearby vantage points for members of the public wishing to see what should be a spectacular event (even if it’ll be all over in a few seconds!).

A film of their destruction can be viewed here