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Centenary Building
The Centenary Building was a building at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. It was designed by the architect Stephen Hodder, completed in December 1995, and opened in 1996. The building won the RIBA Award and inaugural Stirling Prize in 1996, as well as the Civic Trust Award in 1998.
In October 2024, the Twentieth Century Society submitted a listing application for the building citing its architectural significance. In November 2024, the University of Salford announced plans to demolish the building. The plans were met with opposition, including from the original architect. Demolition subsequently commenced in early 2025 and was completed by the end of October.
The site was situated on the edge of the city of Manchester and lay within the campus of the University of Salford. The brief called for a building that would be a "fusion of design and technology" to house the Spatial, Graphic and Industrial Design Department of the university. Hodder had 11 weeks to finish the design stage and begin development on site in order to ensure the European Union grant was eligible and it was built for less than £4 million.
It consisted of two separate glazed structures set as a frame to an informal galleried atrium, with service towers, studio and seminar accommodation housed within a four-storey orthogonal block on the "City side" of the development.
The connection between the two blocks was formed by a raised street within which all horizontal circulation was contained in galleries. Working details of the escape stair were enclosed in glass block screen. Other materials included stainless steel cladding and concrete. Accommodation included seminar rooms, video-editing suites, and lecture halls.
The building was designed without air conditioning, instead relying on a natural ventilation system and underfloor heating which were hallmarks of its environmentally-friendly construction. However, this led to staff complaints of it being too cold in winter and too hot in the summer. Some rooms had no external windows, relying instead on borrowed light from the central atrium. Outside of rooms, all spaces were designed for transit and thus there were no informal 'social' areas in the building.[citation needed]
The Centenary Building received several awards, including the RIBA Award (1996), the RIBA Architecture in Education Category Award (1996), the inaugural Stirling Prize (1996), and the Civic Trust Award (1998).
In October 2024, the Twentieth Century Society submitted a listing application for the Centenary Building. The building had been vacant for several years and had suffered from vandalism. Previous proposals to repurpose the building had not progressed, and the application aimed to protect it amid the ongoing redevelopment of the surrounding area.
Centenary Building
The Centenary Building was a building at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. It was designed by the architect Stephen Hodder, completed in December 1995, and opened in 1996. The building won the RIBA Award and inaugural Stirling Prize in 1996, as well as the Civic Trust Award in 1998.
In October 2024, the Twentieth Century Society submitted a listing application for the building citing its architectural significance. In November 2024, the University of Salford announced plans to demolish the building. The plans were met with opposition, including from the original architect. Demolition subsequently commenced in early 2025 and was completed by the end of October.
The site was situated on the edge of the city of Manchester and lay within the campus of the University of Salford. The brief called for a building that would be a "fusion of design and technology" to house the Spatial, Graphic and Industrial Design Department of the university. Hodder had 11 weeks to finish the design stage and begin development on site in order to ensure the European Union grant was eligible and it was built for less than £4 million.
It consisted of two separate glazed structures set as a frame to an informal galleried atrium, with service towers, studio and seminar accommodation housed within a four-storey orthogonal block on the "City side" of the development.
The connection between the two blocks was formed by a raised street within which all horizontal circulation was contained in galleries. Working details of the escape stair were enclosed in glass block screen. Other materials included stainless steel cladding and concrete. Accommodation included seminar rooms, video-editing suites, and lecture halls.
The building was designed without air conditioning, instead relying on a natural ventilation system and underfloor heating which were hallmarks of its environmentally-friendly construction. However, this led to staff complaints of it being too cold in winter and too hot in the summer. Some rooms had no external windows, relying instead on borrowed light from the central atrium. Outside of rooms, all spaces were designed for transit and thus there were no informal 'social' areas in the building.[citation needed]
The Centenary Building received several awards, including the RIBA Award (1996), the RIBA Architecture in Education Category Award (1996), the inaugural Stirling Prize (1996), and the Civic Trust Award (1998).
In October 2024, the Twentieth Century Society submitted a listing application for the Centenary Building. The building had been vacant for several years and had suffered from vandalism. Previous proposals to repurpose the building had not progressed, and the application aimed to protect it amid the ongoing redevelopment of the surrounding area.
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