Southbank Centre Gains Listed Status After Decades-Long Fight, Marking a Turning Point for Brutalist Architecture
A landmark decision has granted Grade II listed status to the Southbank Centre in London, a complex once widely considered one of Britain’s ugliest buildings. The move, celebrated by preservationists, signals a growing appreciation for brutalism and concludes a 35-year campaign to protect the iconic structure.
After resisting six previous proposals, the government has officially recognized the architectural and cultural significance of the Southbank Centre, comprised of the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Rooms, and Queen Elizabeth Hall, as well as its famed basement skatepark.
The turnaround in perception is striking. Completed in 1967, the Queen Elizabeth Hall was immediately met with criticism, even being voted “the supreme ugly” in a poll of new buildings by engineers. A front-page photograph in The Daily Mail at the time famously questioned, “Is this Britain’s ugliest building?”
“The battle has been won and brutalism has finally come of age,” stated Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society (C20S). “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.” Croft also emphasized the importance of the decision in resolving an inconsistency, as the Southbank Centre was the only unlisted building within the prominent arts complex on the Thames’ south bank.
The listing acknowledges the building’s innovative use of materials and form. Historic England praised the Southbank Centre for its “use of exposed concrete in which the building’s monumental scale is countered by the fine texture and tactility of its surface finishes, executed with exemplary technical skill.” This contrasts with previous assessments, such as the 2018 justification from the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) that the architecture was “not unique or groundbreaking.”
The DCMS had even granted the building immunity from listing in 2020, an exemption that expired in February of the previous year. Despite a request from the building’s owners to extend this immunity for another five years, the department ultimately accepted the advice of Historic England, which highlighted the building’s “bold geometric formations clustered to sculptural effect with a correspondingly dramatic silhouette.”
The Southbank Centre’s neighbors boast similar recognition. The modernist Royal Festival Hall is Grade I-listed, and the National Theatre, also exhibiting brutalist characteristics, is designated as Grade II*.
Looking ahead, the Southbank Centre is urging ministers to provide £30 million in funding for essential infrastructure improvements as it celebrates its 75th anniversary. “The listing underlines the need for government investment in our buildings – all of which they own,” a spokesperson for the center explained. “We look forward to working with the government to ensure these buildings are able to thrive long into the future.”
Past proposals for the Southbank Centre’s redevelopment have included ambitious, and ultimately unrealized, plans such as a shell designed by the late Terry Farrell and a £70 million scheme by the late Richard Rogers to enclose the complex under a glass roof. The current listing ensures that any future alterations will be carefully considered in light of the building’s newfound heritage status.
