My Favourite Building
Every week, TheBusinessDesk.com invites a Yorkshire property professional to reveal their favourite building and explain what makes it so special to them.
This week:
Nigel Cussen, partner at DPP Town Planners in Leeds – Tate Modern in London.
“I have huge admiration for the Tate Modern. It exemplifies all that can be achieved through the imaginative re-use of an existing building in a prominent location.
“The galleries are housed in what was the Bankside Power Station which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Battersea Power Station. It’s a striking and distinguished building in its own right, in an excellent location: the south bank of the River Thames, opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, two very different buildings but the Tate Modern more than holds its own.
“When the building was chosen as the site for the Tate Modern, an international architectural competition was held that attracted entries from practices all over the world. The final choice was Herzog and De Meuron, a relatively small and then little known Swiss firm.
“A key factor was that their proposal retained much of the essential character of the building. One of the shortlisted architects had, for example, proposed demolishing the splendid 95m high chimney, a central feature of the building.
“I particularly admire the way that the huge turbine hall, 35m high and 152m long, was transformed into a dramatic entrance area, as well as a display space for very large sculptural projects.
“The boiler house adjacent to it became the galleries. These are on three levels running the full length of the building. I love the way you can view the main hall from within and above, and how natural light is used to best effect.
“Above the original roofline of the power station was added a two-storey glass penthouse, known as the Lightbeam, which houses a café-restaurant with stunning views of the river and the City.
“The chimney was capped by a coloured light feature designed by the artist Michael Craig-Martin, known as the Swiss Light. At night you can see the penthouse lightbeam and the Swiss Light for miles around, making it truly a London landmark.
“The Tate Modern helped rejuvenate a run-down area of London, and at the same time responded to the constraints of its original design and purpose in the most imaginative and exciting way possible. As a planner, I don’t think you can ask for more.”
