New look Southbank Centre planned

The Southbank Centre in London, UK, is to refurbish and extend its Festival Wing – the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery complex.

The work follows on from the successful Royal Festival Hall refurbishment in 2007, and combined it is hoped the facilities will create a world-class cultural centre for London.

The proposals, by architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, include the refurbishment and renewal of the existing 1960s buildings and the creation of major new arts spaces including a new glass pavilion, a new central foyer and a new liner building.

A glazed atrium will cover the space between the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, and the Hayward Gallery, to create an artistic and social hub for this part of the site with new entrances to all three venues and BFI Southbank, and improve links to the National Theatre.

The Arts Council England has provided £20 million (€23 million) in funding for the project.

Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s South Bank of the Thames.