The Building Centre

The Building Centre is a building in central London used to promote innovation in the built environment. It is run by the Built Environment Trust, a charitable body[1] which was formed in 2015 to replace an earlier charity, the Building Centre Trust, established in 1963.[2]

The Building Centre - May 2022 by Chris Jackson
The Building Centre - May 2022 by Chris Jackson

Formation

The centre was founded in 1931 starting as the building materials bureau of the Architectural Association.[3] Its first managing director was Frank Yerbury, architectural photographer and secretary of the Architectural Association School, and its first chairman was Maurice Webb. It opened its doors on 7 September 1932 at 158 New Bond Street

Locations

The Building Centre operated from New Bond Street until its building was destroyed during The Blitz on 12 May 1941.[4] As a result, it moved to Conduit Street and was based there until 1951, when it moved to its present home in Store Street.[5] The building had been designed by the modernist architects Taperell and Haase as a Daimler motor showroom. It is built of reinforced concrete, faced with Portland stone.[6] When converted to the Building Centre, a sgraffito mural by Augustus Lunn was installed in the open-air courtyard and patio, although this has since been hidden or lost.[6]

Notable people

Organisations at the Building Centre

Organisations located at the building include: the Built Environment Trust,[1] the Construction Industry Council, the Construction Products Association, and the UK Green Building Council.[7]

Current services

Admission to the galleries on the ground floor and lower ground floor is free. There is a cafe open to the public and conference facilities available for hire and are used for a variety of events.

Early key exhibitions
  • 1933 - Three-bedroom cottages competition
  • 1936 - Inn Signs Exhibition
  • 1936 - Women in Architecture
  • 1940 - Railings for Scrap

References
  1. "The Built Environment Trust (Charity number: 1163419)". Charity Commission. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  2. "About the Built Environment Trust". The Building Centre. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. "Our history". Building Centre - Our history. The Building Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. "Railings for Scrap – the Building Centre in the Blitz". The Building Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. "About Us". The Building Centre. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  6. "Building Centre: Building's concrete secrets revealed, 5 October 2017". Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. "Organisations at the Building Centre". Building Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2021.

51.5195°N 0.1316°W / 51.5195; -0.1316

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