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32-507: Centre Point is a building in Central London , comprising a 34-storey tower; a 9-storey block to the east including shops, offices, retail units and maisonettes; and a linking block between the two at first-floor level. It occupies 101–103 New Oxford Street and 5–24 St Giles High Street , WC1, with a frontage also to Charing Cross Road , close to St Giles Circus and almost directly above Tottenham Court Road tube station . The site

64-657: A campaign to push for greater investment in green infrastructure . The 'Grey to Green' campaign and report, Grey to Green: how we shift funding and skills to green our cities , argued that a switch was needed in public spending from grey projects, like road building and heavy engineering projects, to green schemes, like street trees, parks, green roofs and waterways . It developed the Building for Life scheme and Manual for Streets . CABE's remit did not cover Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The equivalent body in Scotland

96-634: A central point at Charing Cross (in the City of Westminster ), which is marked by the statue of King Charles I at the junction of the Strand , Whitehall and Cockspur Street , just south of Trafalgar Square . The central area is distinguished, according to the Royal Commission , by the inclusion within its boundaries of Parliament and the Royal Palaces, the headquarters of Government,

128-530: A framework has been adopted to redevelop the traffic island beneath Centre Point as an open space. Architecture critic Nikolaus Pevsner described Centre Point as "coarse in the extreme". In 1995 it became a Grade II listed building . In 2009, it won the Concrete Society 's Mature Structures Award. Central London Central London is the innermost part of London , in England , spanning

160-945: Is Architecture and Design Scotland , the successor body to the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland . The equivalent body in Wales is the Design Commission For Wales . In Northern Ireland, equivalent work is undertaken by the Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture and the Built Environment (MAG) which was established in 2007 under the Northern Ireland Policy for Architecture and the Built Environment. The successor to CABE, Design Council CABE, operates nationally and internationally. In 2010

192-433: Is described as "a unique cluster of vitally important activities including central government offices, headquarters and embassies, the largest concentration of London's financial and business services sector and the offices of trade, professional bodies, institutions, associations, communications, publishing, advertising and the media". For strategic planning, since 2011 there has been a Central London sub-region comprising

224-484: The City of London and several boroughs . Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteristics are understood to include a high-density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally, nationally and internationally significant organisations and facilities. Road distances to London are traditionally measured from

256-769: The Herbert Commission and the subsequent passage of the London Government Bill , three unsuccessful attempts were made to define an area that would form a central London borough . The first two were detailed in the 1959 Memorandum of Evidence of the Greater London Group of the London School of Economics . "Scheme A" envisaged a central London borough, one of 25, consisting of the City of London, Westminster, Holborn, Finsbury and

288-718: The Law Courts , the head offices of a very large number of commercial and industrial firms, as well as institutions of great influence in the intellectual life of the nation such as the British Museum , the National Gallery , the Tate Gallery , the University of London , the headquarters of the national ballet and opera, together with the headquarters of many national associations, the great professions,

320-412: The 1961 census. It consisted of the City of London, all of Westminster, Holborn and Finsbury; and the inner parts of Shoreditch, Stepney, Bermondsey, Southwark, Lambeth, Chelsea, Kensington, Paddington, St Marylebone and St Pancras. The population was estimated to be 270,000. 51°30′N 0°08′W  /  51.50°N 0.13°W  / 51.50; -0.13 Commission for Architecture and

352-786: The Built Environment The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment ( CABE ) was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government , established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government . It was merged into the Design Council on 1 April 2011. CABE was the government's advisor on architecture, urban design and public space in England. Its job

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384-551: The Burns Security Company, which was guarding the building.) From July 1980 to March 2014, Centre Point was the headquarters of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which became, at 33 years and seven months, the building's longest-standing tenant. In October 2005, Centre Point was bought from the previous owners, Blackmoor LP, by commercial property firm Targetfollow for £85 million. The building

416-480: The City of London, the whole of Finsbury and Holborn, most of Westminster and Southwark, parts of St Pancras, St Marylebone, Paddington and a small part of Kensington. The area had an estimated population of 400,000 and occupied 8,000 acres (32 km ). During the passage of the London Government Bill an amendment was put forward to create a central borough corresponding to the definition used at

448-470: The Government announced that it would withdraw public funding from CABE, merging some functions into a new organisation with the Design Council , Design Council CABE (a registered charity). As in the transition from the Royal Fine Art Commission to CABE, the combined organisation had a much reduced staff and while it continued its Design Review and Localism and Planning roles, a review was conducted into

480-551: The Metropolis or in any provincial city, and the enormous office developments which have taken place recently constitute a totally new phenomenon. Starting in 2004, the London Plan defined a 'Central Activities Zone' policy area, which as of 2008 comprised the City of London, most of Westminster and the inner parts of Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth. It

512-480: The asking price of £1,250,000; he was challenged to allow tenants to rent single floors, but consistently refused. At that time skyscrapers were rare in London, and Centre Point's prominence led to its becoming a rallying symbol for opponents. The homeless charity Centrepoint was founded in 1969 as a homeless shelter in nearby Soho , named Centrepoint in response to the building Centre Point being seen as an "affront to

544-527: The boroughs of Camden , Islington , Kensington and Chelsea , Lambeth , Southwark , Westminster and the City of London . From 2004 to 2008, the London Plan included a sub-region called Central London comprising Camden, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Westminster. It had a 2001 population of 1,525,000. The sub-region was replaced in 2008 with a new structure which amalgamated inner and outer boroughs together. This

576-413: The homeless" for being left empty to make money for the property developer. In 1974 an umbrella group of Direct Action housing campaigners, including Jim Radford , Ron Bailey and Jack Dromey , organised a weekend occupation of Centre Point from 18 January to 20 January to draw attention to its being deliberately left empty during a housing crisis in London. (Two of the occupiers had obtained jobs with

608-507: The inner parts of St Marylebone, St Pancras, Chelsea, Southwark and Lambeth. The boundary deviated from existing lines to include all central London railway stations , the Tower of London and the museums, such that it included small parts of Kensington, Shoreditch, Stepney and Bermondsey. It had an estimated population of 350,000 and occupied 7,000 acres (28 km ). "Scheme B" delineated central London, as one of 7 boroughs, including most of

640-594: The new commission's name and purview. CABE was established in August 1999. It came about from the Urban Task Force set up in 1998, chaired by Richard Rogers . Some CABE's functions, including design review and localism and planning, were merged with the Design Council on 11 April 2011 (the Design Council is a registered charity). CABE's first chairman was Stuart Lipton who was also Chief Executive of

672-483: The original plan. The pedestrian subway attracted anti-social activities. On 19 June 2006, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment pointed to the building as an example of bad design, where badly-designed pavements force pedestrians into the bus lane and account for the highest level of pedestrian injuries in Central London . With the planned redevelopment of Tottenham Court Road Underground Station,

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704-685: The property developer Stanhope . Private Eye ' s architectural correspondent complained that this represented a conflict of interest. CABE set up a dedicated design review panel to provide expert advice on the quality of designs for the government's proposed eco-towns . The panel reviewed the proposals for: Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire; Rackheath in Norfolk; North-West Bicester in Oxfordshire; and St Austell in Cornwall. CABE launched

736-661: The refurbishment of the lower rise buildings and the new affordable housing block. In 2015 work began on conversion of the building to residential flats. The restoration and conversion of the tower to a residential building was finished in March 2018. Much as had been the case at its original opening, the refurbished tower remains largely empty, with few windows lit in the evenings, the rest in darkness, despite at least half its units being sold. This has led to its being called one of London's "ghost towers". The promised transport interchange and highways improvements were not delivered following

768-621: The time of its completion until 1975, and was briefly occupied by housing activists in 1974. Since 1995 it has been a Grade II listed building . In 2015, it was converted from office space to flats. The building was designed by George Marsh of the architects R. Seifert and Partners , with engineers Pell Frischmann , and was constructed by Wimpey Construction from 1963 to 1966 for £5.5 million. The precast segments were formed of fine concrete, utilising crushed Portland stone ; they were made by Portcrete Limited at Portland, Isle of Portland , Dorset, and transported to London by lorry. Centre Point

800-485: The trade unions, the trade associations, social service societies, as well as shopping centres and centres of entertainment which attract people from the whole of Greater London and farther afield. In many other respects the central area differs from areas farther out in London. The rateable value of the central area is exceptionally high. Its day population is very much larger than its night population. Its traffic problems reach an intensity not encountered anywhere else in

832-506: Was Paul Finch, a former chair of the Design Council . CABE's chief executive was Richard Simmons. One of CABE's main functions was design review: expert independent assessments of building schemes at an early stage. CABE reviewed schemes of national importance, that had a significant impact on the local environment, or which set standards for the future. Its design review panel consisted of around 40 expert advisors drawn from England's architectural, built environment and creative community. CABE

864-413: Was altered in 2011 when a new Central London sub-region was created, now including the City of London and excluding Wandsworth. The 1901 Census defined Central London as the City of London and the metropolitan boroughs (subdivisions that existed from 1900 to 1965) of Bermondsey , Bethnal Green , Finsbury , Holborn , Shoreditch , Southwark , Stepney , St Marylebone and Westminster . During

896-535: Was built as speculative office space by property tycoon Harry Hyams , who had leased the site at £18,500 a year for 150 years. Hyams intended that the whole building be occupied by a single tenant, and negotiated fiercely for its approval. On completion, the building remained vacant for many years, leading to its being referred to as "London's Empty Skyscraper". With property prices rising and most business tenancies taken for set periods of 10 or 15 years, Hyams could afford to keep it empty and wait for his single tenant at

928-459: Was extensively refurbished. As of 2009 occupants included US talent agency William Morris ; the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia, Aramco ; Chinese oil company PetroChina ; and electronic gaming company EA Games . It has since been purchased by Almacantar . Almacantar approached Conran and Partners for the refurbishment of the tower including change of use from office to residential, whilst MICA, formerly Rick Mather Architects, led

960-555: Was known as a 'non-statutory consultee' in the planning process, meaning that planners and others should heed CABE's advice when making decisions, but were not obliged to do so. CABE's main office was situated in a large tower block built in 1968 (and designed by Richard Seifert ) near Drury Lane . CABE was the direct successor body to the Royal Fine Art Commission , originally established in 1924. Originally intended to be called "Commission for Architecture", Sir Terry Farrell successfully argued for "Built Environment" to be added to

992-436: Was once occupied by a gallows, and the tower sits directly over the former route of St Giles High Street, which had to be re-routed for the construction. The building is 117 m (385 ft) high, has 34 floors and 27,180 m (292,563 sq ft) of floor space. Constructed from 1963 to 1966, it was one of the first skyscrapers in London, and as of 2009 was the city's joint 27th-tallest building. It stood empty from

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1024-494: Was to influence and inspire the people making decisions about the built environment. It championed well-designed buildings, spaces and places, ran public campaigns and provided expert, practical advice. It worked directly with architects, planners, designers and clients. CABE's board members – its commissioners – were appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport . There were 16 commissioners in total. Its chair

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