National Theatre

You are approaching a building that has occupied a singular place in the public imagination since it opened in nineteen seventy-six. Architect Denys Lasdun conceived of the structure as an urban landscape, designing its interlocking concrete terraces to function like geological strata that invite the city into the building. While many visitors today appreciate its bold, geometric presence along the Thames, it famously polarized opinion upon completion. King Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales, memorably derided the aesthetic by comparing the theatre to a nuclear power station.