The Hayward Southbank Centre

LDNiCON

LDNiCON is about celebrating Londons architectural endevours and uncovering the quirky, sometimes seemingly bland, components of the city. We are not focused on headline city architecture, rather, second course servings of London’s buildings and the spaces between them. These components represent the mass of the city and contribute more to the spatial experience than well-recognised buildings in London - the experience that most Londoners live through in their day-to-day existence. This is what we are most interested in.

Each month we will share our findings; experiences and ideas of what we think make architectural icons in the city of London.

The Hayward

Location : Southbank, London
Built : 1968
Architect : Hubert Bennett, Jack Whittle and Geoffrey Horsefall

What's hot :The main gallery space is a huge volume inside a concrete box that feels like it should be outdoors.
What's not : Uninviting gallery entrance with awkward pedestrian flow from main transport hubs.

The Hayward is one of London's most important galleries for contemporary art. It forms part of the Southbank Centre, which is sited on the South bank of the Thames River, and is the international arts hub for London. The building holds five main gallery spaces and is split over two levels of indoor spaces, with three outdoor sculpture courts. A massive construction of concrete, obscure building entrances, limited windows and secretive walkways and staircases, makes for an awkward building experience.

The Hayward is brutal. A superb example of its time, it posses a deeply contrasting building form, stark interplay of dark shadowing and sun drenched elements, all of which wrapped in a well matured, dirty, concrete facade.

The building demands to be photographed in black and white. Cast concrete staircases link the two levels that are open to the public. The substantial staircases, built for an external environment cocooned in a large, window less concrete box, make for an imposing volume as a gallery space. The use of artificial lighting in an internal space, which is finished to an external specification, is an uneasy experience. Well polished brass hand rails and the preserved lavatory block represent the Brutilist era nicely. The three outdoor sculpture courts, located above ground provide good views over the London skyline. The size of surface area at this height, right next to the river is a special experience as it is rare for the public to gain such a perspective of City anywhere else.

Designed by Sir Hubert Bennett and completed in 1968, it is on the list of icons of Brutilist architecture in London. It survives today as a historical response to the steel and glass endeavours of the new London skyscrapers rising out of the ground on the opposite side of the Thames. It also survives today in debate and discussion: do the people of London conserve the controversial building style or do they replace it with the architectural flavour of the season?

When it opened in 1968, it received an almost universally poor reception. Newspapers, architectural reviews and the people of London described the building as repelling, uninviting, unsuitable and even terrible. Architectural press included pictures of the new gallery, which depicted a building that was dirty, boring, ridden with graffiti and uninspiring to the public.

Despite being hated at birth, the building has matured into an important architectural personality on the Southbank. It has also maintained its role as key venue for showcasing contemporary art, with its architecture complimenting and endorsing the very art that is attracted to its galleries.

The Hayward hostsﾕ three to four temporary exhibits a year. Unlike other similarly sized galleries in London, it does not have a permanent exhibit. Their program embraces the visual arts and has hosted the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Edvard Much and French Impressionists. Recent exhibits of the works of Dan Flavin and Antony Gormley have been particularly successful.

The current exhibition called Psycho Buildings looks at artistst interpretation of the architecture of the building itself. We will be reviewing the exhibit next month!

Website : www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Written by Tai Hollingsbee