I have always loved that building – a very unfashionable line to take for a 1960’s student. It was exciting & beautifully proportioned, & has stood the test of time much better than most of the other attempts to bring London’s architecture into the modern era.
It went up just before I left to live abroad, & was still empty when I returned 7 years later, so its future didn’t look bright then. Private Eye, the satirical magazine, was merciless about its architect, 'Colonel' Richard Seifert, & developer Harry Highams who, under the benign eye of the Conservative government of Edward Heath were supposed to be uncaring spivs interested in nothing but profit. If I remember rightly there was supposed to be some loophole in the laws about payment of rates which allowed them to gain financial advantage even on an empty building. Right-on types argued for the building to be turned into flats for the homeless.
Now I suppose that, if these reports of administration turn out to be correct, then its next phase will be as the property of an overseas sovereign wealth fund.
Links
