Assignment

Assignment

Introduction

The South Bank Centre was first opened in 1951 as the venue for the Festival of Britain. The Festival was a symbolic celebration following the Second World War and marked the centenary of the Great Exhibition. The South Bank Centre is made up of The Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Hayward Gallery and is recognizable by its bold, though not always popular architecture. The Royal Festival Hall is the largest Arts centre in the world and regularly holds free exhibitions and concerts in its impressive foyer. The Hayward Gallery is a leading venue for contemporary Art and detailed analysis of many artistic movements. The South Bank Centre has often been criticized for its cold, harsh and dominating exterior but there is no denying that it has become a cultural marvel.

The South Bank Centre is well serviced by regular buses and by Waterloo Station, and lies in close proximity to many other attractions such as The London Eye, The Millennium Bridge and Jubilee Gardens. The South Bank Centre has many shops and cafes and caters for every conceivable taste. Many of the world's best orchestras and modern musicians have played within its limestone walls and many of the most influential artists of all time have their work displayed within the Hayward. The centre has been growing since 1951 and there are plans for many more additions and developments within the next few years. A visit to London would not be complete without a visit to the South Bank.

Architecture

The South Bank is a complex of quite outstanding ugliness on the south bank of the River Thames. With its harsh concrete Brutalism, the complex is frequently derided by conservatives as the embodiment of all that is wrong with modern architecture (although it is not all that modern now). South Bank Centre is an extension of the 1951 Festival of Britain and long-term home of London's biggest arts center. The complex houses the Royal National Theatre, National Film Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, London Television Centre, and the Hayward Gallery among others.

It had all seemed to be going so well for London's South Bank. After two decades in which the 30-acre site has been the Bermuda Triangle of architectural reputations, in which one ambitious masterplan and proposed cultural landmark after another has been lost without trace, from Terry Farrell to Richard Rogers, from Raf-ael Vinoly to David Chipperfield, work has finally started on the £91 million remodelling of the Festival Hall. And this month, cultural philanthropist and SBC board member Vivienne Duffield will mark the temporary closure of the hall by burying a time capsule on the site, replicating the original ceremony 50 years ago.

Then came details of chairman of the South Bank Centre Lord Hollick's abrasive negotiating style with the London Eye. His demands were leaked to the press. Suddenly, what had been seen as a well-meaning, if sometimes ineffectual, cultural body was being portrayed as the worst kind of rapacious landlord and politicians were calling for its ...