Southbank Tower

Southbank Tower was originally known as King's Reach Tower when it first opened in nineteen seventy-two. Designed by the influential architect Richard Seifert, the structure was a classic example of a nineteen seventies podium and slab office block. For decades, it served as the headquarters for IPC Media, a major publishing house that produced many of Britain's most popular magazines and comics. During the late nineteen seventies and eighties, the building gained a cult following as the headquarters of the science fiction comic two thousand AD. Within the pages of the comic, the tower was depicted as a disguised spaceship and the nerve center for the publication's alien editor, Tharg. The staff of the comic were frequently portrayed as robots, which served as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the persistent labor strikes and industrial disputes that plagued the publishing industry during that era.