"Successive governments have resisted six separate proposals to list the centre a set of concrete buildings made up of the Hayward Gallery, the Purcell Rooms and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, plus a makeshift skatepark in its basement. But after a 35-year campaign the government has agreed to give Grade II status to the Southbank Centre, which was designed by the architects department at the former London council council led by Norman Engleback. It confirms a turnaround in the building's reputation."
"Catherine Croft, the director of the Twentieth Century Society (C20S) said the listing decision was long overdue. She 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. She also pointed out that the decision ended an anomaly of the centre being the only unlisted building in the arts complex on the south side of the Thames."
The Southbank Centre has received Grade II listed status after a 35-year campaign. The complex comprises the Hayward Gallery, the Purcell Rooms, Queen Elizabeth Hall and a basement makeshift skatepark. The centre was designed by the architects department at the former London council led by Norman Engleback and was completed in 1967. The building once attracted derision and was voted Britain’s ugliest in contemporary polls, including a Daily Mail front-page. The listing recognizes the use of exposed concrete, the building’s monumental scale and the fine texture and tactility of its surface finishes. The decision narrows listing anomalies within the arts complex.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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