LISTED POST-WAR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS RE-VISITED
From lobbies to boardrooms – English Heritage reviews list descriptions of 28 buildings in pilot project giving owners more clarity in managing change
English Heritage has today announced the outcomes of a pilot project to review list descriptions of building types that undergo frequent change. The revisions to 28 post-war commercial offices have better identified the special interest in these buildings, which in many cases are the exterior and internally limited to spaces such as lobbies and board rooms. When other parts of the building, such as basements and working floors are not of interest, this is said explicitly, thereby giving owners greater flexibility and clarity in the process of consents and management of change.
The project was in response to the Penfold Review and has culminated as the Enterprise and Regulatory Bill has gained Royal Assent. The new Act incorporates many changes recommended in the Penfold Review, bringing positive changes to the heritage protection system with clearer and faster decisions, and more efficient systems to facilitate growth. Listing is also playing its part in this.
The revised List entries will also facilitate the development of Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreements between the owner and the local authority. This approach to listing was set out in the listing of the Lloyds Building in December 2011 and can reduce the amount of listed building consent applications the owner needs to make.
As part of the project, the Time and Life Building (1953), London, has been upgraded to Grade II* in recognition of the high level of design and high quality art, including two commissions by Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson reliefs and Geoffrey Clarke sculpture integrated into the building. The interiors of the building were designed by Sir Hugh Casson, director of architecture at the Festival of Britain.
Bracken House (1955, London), the former headquarters of the Financial Times, was the first post-war building to be listed in 1987. This late example of modern classicism has since undergone significant change since listing, as the central printing house was rebuilt in 1988-91 for the new owners by Michael Hopkins and Partners. It was cleverly knitted into the wider building and is of such quality that it has been given a special mention within the Grade II* listing.
The former Pilkington Headquarters complex (1959, St Helen’s) was listed at Grade II in 1995 as one of the best and earliest greenfield headquarters complexes in England. The revised List entry now includes the previously unlisted gatehouse, former chauffeur’s house, and car port as key original components of the complex. The north lake surrounds and concrete bridge, which were previously listed separately at Grade II, are now incorporated into the new single list entry for the site. The landscape has been added onto The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens at Grade II for its strong design interest, one of only a small number of registered post-war landscapes.
Other notable facts added to the list entries include:
New Century House (1959-63, Manchester): one of the first commercial buildings in England to be air conditioned, as was the CIS building. Includes sculptured artworks by Stephen Sykes & John McCarthy (McCarthy also has a specifically listed artwork at the Birds Eye building).
The Rotunda (1960-65, Birmingham): considered unique in Britain to find an office building in such a simple form, its setting “forming a climax to the entry to the city”. Significant artworks identified in the list entry include the full height ciment-fondu mural by John Poole.
The Willis Building (1970-75, Ipswich): Sir Norman Foster’s first large scale commission and hailed internationally for its striking design and sensitive, innovative use of curvilinear glass curtain walling and the first use of escalators in an office building in Britain. It was listed Grade I in 1991.
New Zealand House (1959-63, Westminster): an elegant tower and podium composition, it has significance as the first major office tower in central London, the first to be fully air conditioned and the first to be fully glazed on all sides. It also includes specifically listed artwork: the sculptor Inia te Wiata’s life sized tribal figures of Maoris.
Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation which was consulted on the project, said: “The passage of theEnterprise and Regulatory Reform Act will bring many benefits for all those involved with listed buildings as for the first time the extent of the listing will be legally defined. This will make it much easier to identify and protect those parts of a listed building which make it special whilst, where appropriate, allowing changes to take place to less significant parts of the building that may be needed to keep it in use and so safeguard its future.
“The problem is that most listed buildings currently have listings which provide only the sketchiest information about what makes them special. Updating those listings will be a massive job and we are delighted with the success of English Heritage’s initial pilot to provide more detailed listings for modern office buildings. We look forward to working with English Heritage to build on this solid start and explore which other buildings should be fast tracked for more detailed listing.”
Emily Gee, Head of Designation at English Heritage, said: “This project has helped shape our designation response to the government’s better regulation agenda and provided what we hope are useful improvements for the owners of these special working offices. English Heritage is committed to applying appropriate levels of protection and providing clarity, while also celebrating the very best of post-war commercial architecture.”
The 28 buildings that have enhanced list descriptions are:
Pilkington Glassworks Head Offices, St Helen’s
Pall Mall Court, Manchester
New Century House, Manchester
CIS Building, Manchester
Barclay’s Bank, Plymouth
Royal Bank of Scotland (formerly National Provincial Bank), Plymouth
Grosvenor House, Birmingham
Offices for Carr & Co, Birmingham (Goldfinger House)
Rotunda, Birmingham
WD & HO Wills HQ, Bristol
The Willis Building, Ipswich
Boots D90 HQ, Nottingham
Bird’s Eye, Walton on Thames, Surrey
Bracken House, Cannon Street, City of London
Former offices of YRM, Greystoke Place, City of London
Clareville House, Panton Street, Westminster
Sanderson House, Berners Street, Westminster
Economist Building, Westminster
Knickerbox, 219 Oxford Street, Westminster
Time and Life Building, New Bond Street, Westminster
45-46 Albemarle Street, Westminster
100 Pall Mall, Westminster
New Zealand House, Haymarket, Westminster
Millbank Tower, Westminster
41 Albemarle Street, Westminster
Centrepoint, Charing Cross Road, Camden
Sekers, 190 Sloane Street, Kensington & Chelsea
Heinz admin & research Labs at Heinz UK Headquarters, Hillingdon
The list descriptions can be found on the National Heritage List for England at www.english-heritage.org.uk/list.
Looking ahead, English Heritage will prioritise revisions of complex buildings and sites where the new approach would have a positive impact on management. It is also undertaking a project on architectural developments in commercial offices built between 1964 and 1984, the exemplars of which will be considered for listing later this year, and a contextual report published.
English Heritage press office