Hayward Gallery

The Hayward Gallery is an uncompromising masterpiece of Brutalist architecture that rose from the South Bank in 1968. Its design features vast, raw concrete surfaces and a labyrinthine network of elevated walkways that were intended to create a dynamic, sculptural urban environment. While the building is now celebrated as a significant piece of design, its sheer concrete forms were once so polarizing that the structure was frequently voted one of the most unpopular buildings in Britain. Its construction was a bold statement of sixties optimism, representing a government vision for a new, experimental center for the arts that moved away from traditional, ornamental aesthetics.