Britain’s ‘top building of 1996’ to be flattened

A building which won Britain’s most prestigious architectural award is set to be demolished.

Salford University’s Centenary Building won the Stirling Prize in 1996 but has sat empty for eight years.

It was once described as ‘a dynamic, modern and sophisticated exercise in steel, glass and concrete’ and Britain’s best new building.

The building will now be flattened to make way for redevelopment which is backed by the university.

Architect Stephen Hodder told the Architects Journal that the building could be re-used or adapted.

He said: ‘This is not borne out of nostalgia, it being the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize winner, or indeed the importance of the building to the development of our practice, but as an original signatory to Architects Declare and past chair of the Construction Industry Council’s Climate Change Committee, I simply cannot support the demolition of a building that is only 30 years old.

‘[We’re] not aware that there has been an exhaustive effort to repurpose the building.

‘For a university that promotes its sustainability credentials, the intention to demolish surely undermines the credibility of its policy. We urge it to reconsider, and hope the architectural community and wider industry collectively exclaim its concerns.’

The Twentieth Century Society has campaigned for the building to be listed and said it is ‘the best building to emerge from the new university building boom of recent years’.

The building’s steel and glass has been praised by architects and is what ultimately led it to win the Stirling Prize.

In 1996, the building’s natural ventilation system and underfloor heating were seen as groundbreaking in environmental terms.

But many complained that the building was too cold in winter and too hot in summer.

Other complaints made were the sound of feet on metal staircases that could be heard across the building.

The building was originally meant to house the School of Electrical Engineering but was changed during construction to the Faculty of Art and Design.

A proposal was put forward in 2018 to make it into a primary school but the building has sat empty for eight years.

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