Southbank Centre Architecture

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About Southbank Centre Architecture

Do you love the way the Royal Festival Hall looks like a cruise ship or the brutalist concrete architecure of the Hayward Gallery?
Add your own photos to this Group - we'd love to see them. There will be prizes up for grabs for the best pics later in the summer!

About the Architecture at Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre as it stands today grew out of the Festival of Britain’s flagship exhibition, held on the south bank of the Thames in 1951. The Royal Festival Hall was designed and built within three years to ensure it opened at the same time. The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room were built alongside the Royal Festival Hall in 1967, and the Hayward opened in 1968. The Hayward’s new foyer opened in 2003 and, to coincide with the opening of the Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridges that now flank Hungerford bridge, the Festival Stairs were added and in 2007. The fully refurbishment Royal Festival Hall as it appears now, opened its doors to the public.

‘The Southbank lies geographically at the centre of London and I think it is at the heartland of artistic endeavour: I love the Festival Hall because on the inside it is like a ship – all teak and brass.’
(Antony Gormley, Artist)

The Hayward Gallery is an outstanding example of 60s brutalist architecture and is one of the few remaining buildings of this style. It was designed by a group of young architects, including Dennis Crompton, Warren Chalk and Ron Herron. The Hayward Gallery is named after the late Sir Isaac Hayward, the former leader of the London County Council.

‘Every time I visit I am struck by the stark, Brutalist architecture, and yet have always found it a place of endless possibilities for providing inspiration and creativity. To me, they are ugly buildings but with the biggest heart!’
(Sam Taylor-Wood, Director)

'One of London’s most important spaces for displaying contemporary art, the Hayward Gallery is housed in an austere 1968 building that is both equally loved and derided by the majority of Londoners. Whichever camp you fall into, you’ll agree that it makes an excellent hanging space for the blockbuster exhibitions it puts on.'
(Lonely Planet)

Find out more at www.southbankcentre.co.uk