4 CONTEXT 188 : JUNE 2026 ‘I STOOD on Bond Street over the weekend looking up at the remnants of Fenwick – that beautiful classical facade suspended on a cradle of temporary steel, the building behind it completely gone – and felt something I wasn’t expecting. Not outrage. Melancholy. ‘This is facadism. And I’ve always had mixed feelings about it. What it keeps is the surface. The ornament without the structure. The face without the building that gave it meaning… ‘Facadism doesn’t feel like preservation. It feels like the construction of a false memory.’ Architect Dominic Chapman writing on LinkedIn ‘NO PLAINTIFF can remember an instance in which so many national and regional organisations have coalesced to defend a single historic building and its grounds, reflecting both the Kennedy Center’s significance and the breadth of concern that the administration’s approach could weaken longstanding federal protections for historic sites nationwide.’ A coalition of conservationists commenting on their lawsuit which contends that the Trump administration must adhere to the processes in the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Protection Act before proceeding with planned renovations to the Kennedy Center ‘THE development of the multiplex represents a relatively late stage in its wider evolution and is not of national significance. As a building type and way of enjoying entertainment, the multiplex was pioneered in the United States rather than Britain.’ Historic England explaining its decision to grant immunity from listing to The Point, a 1980s BDP-designed landmark in Milton Keynes ‘LONDON’S brutalist Southbank Centre has been listed at Grade-II by Historic England. The centre itself is visited by around 3.4 million visitors a year. Modernist aficionados are cock-a-hoop. This, they claim, is evidence that Britain now loves brutalism… ‘This is not a serious argument. First, the reason the Southbank Centre has been listed is for its architectural and historic significance, not any measure of popularity. British buildings are listed either for their architectural or historic interest. While the “appearance of a building… is often a key consideration in listing”, it is not necessarily so. Public popularity (sadly) is irrelevant… ‘The modernist mafia seized their moment with judicious aplomb. Well done them in persuading the government to list a loveless lump.’ Nicholas Boys Smith of Create Streets writing in The Critic ‘THIS WEEK [the Southbank Centre] was finally listed Grade II, the UK’s designation for a structure of “special architectural or historic interest”, now protected from the kinds of changes and ill-considered additions that have been proposed for it for decades. It really is about time. This concrete cultural complex, which takes in the Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, along with acres of public space and riverside terraces, is the apex of British brutalism… ‘It was not designed by a bigname architect but by a local council designer, Norman Engleback of the London County Council. With his Edwardian beard and twirling moustache, floppy hair and pipe, Engleback was a pivotal figure in London architecture. He travelled widely in Europe to look at other new concert halls in Germany, Switzerland and Italy and created something understated, elegant and effective, which improved on the Festival Hall’s acoustics… ‘The buildings are intriguing: chunky, massive, strange and creating a memorable silhouette. It looks entirely different from wherever you stand, the ribbon window of the Hayward Gallery like a sinister fortress, yet standing on spindly concrete legs… The heavy concrete treasure chest of the Queen Elizabeth Hall (1967), with its beautiful, carefully wrought interior of mushroom columns and triangular coffers and a warm, timber-lined auditorium with concrete balconies and boxes, offers a softer, more seductive brutalism. ‘The sheer concrete mass of the exterior, once so hated, was functional, protection against the noise; the traffic, the truck deliveries, the car park and the helicopter route along the river… ‘For decades there have been attempts to tame or contain this concrete beast... All have failed and this tough brute of a building has outlived every one.’ Edwin Heathcote writing in the Financial Times ‘THEY’RE GOING to be handcarved, and they’re beautiful, top of the line. They’ll be Corinthian, which is considered the best, most beautiful by far.’ President Trump quoted in the Dezeen website on his determination to replace the Ionic columns on the main portico of the White House.
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