"The buildings are praised as a bold architectural response to an awkward riverside site, their functions broken out into assertive geometric forms that cluster together. Their exposed concrete is central to the case, which while imposing from a distance, up close, the fine grain and tactile finishes reveal an exceptional level of craft."
"Inside, the drama continues - concert halls, foyers, galleries, staircases and ramps unfold in carefully choreographed sequences, materials rubbing up against each other in deliberate contrast. The Scandinavian modernist style Royal Festival Hall and the brutalist National Theatre have long enjoyed listed status. What this new designation does is finally draw a protective line around the Brutalist siblings that sit between them."
"The listing embraces the entire Southbank estate: the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the much-loved skatepark undercroft, along with the terraces, walkways and staircases that stitch the complex together into a concrete city. Since 1991, both the Twentieth Century Society and Historic England have recommended listing on at least six occasions. Each time, the advice ran headlong into government reluctance. Finally, the government has said yes."
The Southbank Centre has been granted Grade II listing, protecting the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the skatepark undercroft, plus terraces, walkways and staircases. Recommendations for listing were made repeatedly since 1991 by the Twentieth Century Society and Historic England but were previously blocked by government reluctance. Historic England praises the complex as a bold architectural response to a difficult riverside site, noting assertive geometric forms, exposed concrete with fine grain and tactile finishes, and carefully choreographed interior sequences. The designation recognises the ensemble as one of the most complete expressions of Brutalism in England.
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