Resplendent in its £100 million refit, the Royal
Festival Hall reopens on 8 June. The celebration will be marked with a
48-hour fanfare of free concerts, where the full extend of works will
be revealed, including opened-up and extended foyers, a complete revamp
of the auditorium - which features upgraded acoustics and seating - new
bars and two smart new restaurants, the Skylon and the Canteen.
The original decorative palette has been restored, too, and includes classic
Fifties olive green, gold and cream colours with walnut wood, limestone
and bronze. The work has been carried out by the highly respected practice
Allies & Morrison, which has a long association with the RFH. The
Royal Festival Hall, the centrepiece of the Southbank Centre arts complex,
takes pride of place in the new-look Thamesside cultural quarter. In the
two years, it has taken to complete the works to the RFH, the area has
been transformed into one of London's most vibrant hotspots. Once derided
for its windswept terraces, forbidding facades and grafitti-covered concrete,
it is now alive with activity. At last, the capital has a riverside promenade
lined with shops, bars, cafes and restaurants to go with some of the best
arts venues in Europe, including the National Theatre and Hayward Gallery.
It is a triumph thanks to the vision of American- born architects Rick
Mather, who beat off ferocious competition to win the job as masterplanner
of the new era. I remember coming here the first time in the Seventies
and thinking then about ways to make improvements. It was an interesting
period piece but some of the futuristic ideas hadn't quite worked",
recalls Mather.
Mather's idea was to bust open those dark spaces, move the road around
the back and populate the place. "There is nothing duller than a
blank wall", he says. "Look at the success of cities such as
Barcelona, where they make the most of the waterfront. We wanted the same
buzz, with lots happening at ground level, and to make strong links between
the different levels."
Core to his success has been the strip of new shops and restaurants next
to Hungerford Bridge, where there are queues at lunchtime and in the evening.
"It is so busy now, I can never get in anywhere, " says Mather.
"But that's the proof of success."
While the area is not highly residential, it has become a social hub.
"The total transformation has made the South Bank a new focus for
the centre of town, says Johnny Male of local estate agent Daniel Cobb.
"The restaurants and bars are a great draw for people wanting to
live locally, and we are seeing interest from homebuyers in all quarters.
Lots of City firms are moving into the West End, it is also handy for
people working in Westminster or Covent Garden, and there are plenty of
older buyers who want to be near the theatres and concert halls. Prices
are shooting up." Two-bedroom flats nearby can go for as much as
£400,000.
Along with the works in and around the Royal Festival Hall, the area has
also seen the opening of BFI Southbank - the British Film Institute's
new HQ, with its state-of-the-art Mediateque cinema, galleries and film
store. It replaces the National Film Theatre and opened in March after
a £6 million revamp. Along the road is the new Young Vic theatre,
which opened in October after a £12.5 million rebuild.
The next phase of works led by Rick Mather includes upgrading and reinventing
the areas in and around the Hayward Gallery and the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Work is also scheduled to start on Jubilee Gardens at the foot of the
London Eye.
23 May 2007