Story perspectives

Southbank Centre Earns Grade II Listing After 35-Year Fight

2/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Southbank Centre in London, including the Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall, has been granted Grade II-listed status after a 35-year campaign by the Twentieth Century Society, with the brutalist design led by Norman Engleback.
Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, calls the decision long overdue and says the building is a masterpiece of brutalist architecture.
The listing ends a prolonged struggle against government rejections.

1 of 1

Story summary

The Southbank Centre in London, including the Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall, has been granted Grade II-listed status after a 35-year campaign by the Twentieth Century Society, with the brutalist design led by Norman Engleback.
Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, calls the decision long overdue and says the building is a masterpiece of brutalist architecture.
The listing ends a prolonged struggle against government rejections.