The Southbank Centre, which was once voted Britain’s ugliest building, has finally been granted Grade II listed status after a 35-year campaign.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has ruled that the 1960s Brutalist building will be granted protected status, meaning any proposed alterations will be subject to strict heritage regulations
The Twentieth Century Society (C20) and Historic England has recommended listing the arts and cultural complex on least six occasions since 1991. However, each bid has been rejected by the Secretary of State of the day.
The listed status includes the concrete buildings spanning the Hayward Gallery, the Purcell Rooms and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, including a makeshift skatepark in its basement.
The Southbank Centre was opened by HM the Queen in 1967 as part of Britain’s post war cultural renewal. It was designed in direct contrast the smooth Royal Festival Hall next door, which has Grade I listed status.
The Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall were designed by the Architects’ Department of the London County Council and the design was controversial from the outset.
In 1967, The Daily Mail carried a picture of the Southbank Centre under the headline “Is this Britain’s ugliest building?”
Brutalism translates from the french phrase for ‘raw concrete’ and was a late modernist architecture that emerged during the second half of the twentieth century. Brutalist buildings fell out of fashion by the late 1970s and came under threat of demolition.
Catherine Croft, director of C20 said “The battle has been won and Brutalism has finally come of age. This is a victory over those who derided so called ‘concrete monstrosities’ and shows a mature recognition of a style where Britain led the way.
Relatedarticles
“We’re absolutely thrilled that this internationally recognised concrete-masterpiece of post-war architecture has finally been accepted as part of our national heritage, some 35 years after the Twentieth Century Society first campaigned for the Southbank Centre to be protected.”
The building has been subject to a number of design proposals. In 1989, a scheme by Terry Farrell was launched which would have wrapped the buildings in a ‘postmodern shell’, yet this was abandoned in 1993.
In 1994, a £70 million Richard Rogers plan named ‘The Wave’ proposed a glass roof cloaking the buildings and semi-enclosing the outdoor spaces. However, this was criticised for a lack of practicality and high cost, and was also axed after it failed to receive National Lottery funding.
The Southbank Centre has also asked the government for £30 million to support improvements to its infrastructure in its 75th anniversary year.
