63-807: The National Poetry Library is a free public collection housed at Royal Festival Hall in London's Southbank Centre . Situated on the fifth floor of the Royal Festival Hall, overlooking the river Thames , the library aims to hold all contemporary UK poetry publications since 1912. It houses the largest collection in Britain, numbering over 200,000 items, including works by small presses. It also holds audio and video materials, critical texts and works for children for loan and reference. The library contains work by non-UK poets and publishers and press cuttings are also archived for members' research. Membership
126-501: A cost of £2 million and officially opened on 3 May 1951 with a gala concert attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth , conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent and Sir Adrian Boult . The first general manager was T. E. Bean, who had previously managed the Hallé Orchestra . "I was overwhelmed by a shock of breathless delight at the originality and beauty of the interior. It felt as if I had been instantly transported far into
189-470: A hurried burglary, but none has a compromised sightline. The ceiling was wilfully sculptural, a conceit at the very edge of building technology and, as it turns out, way beyond the contemporary understanding of acoustics. Robin Day , who designed the furniture for the auditorium, used a clearly articulated structure in his designs of bent plywood and steel. The original building had lushly planted roof terraces;
252-547: A larger space back in Piccadilly. It has been located at the Royal Festival Hall since 1988, when Seamus Heaney opened the new venue. With the relocation, the library was given the Signal Poetry Collection of children's poetry books which had been held by Book House. This formed the basis for the library's body of works for children and young adults, available for loan and reference. The beech furniture
315-556: A number of rich and varied ensembles which alone or in combination could equal the dynamic scale of any orchestra or choral grouping, in addition to coping with the entire solo repertoire. The design principles enshrined in its construction gave rise to a whole new school of organ building, known as the English Organ Reform Movement , influencing in the UK alone the cathedral organs of Coventry and Blackburn and
378-683: A second concert hall and an art gallery on the eastern part of the South Bank site previously occupied by a lead works and shot tower (and which had been earmarked as a site for the National Theatre ). It was another 12 years before the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the linked Purcell Room opened to the public. Together, they were to be known as South Bank Concert Halls. In 1968, the Hayward opened, under direct management of
441-400: A single day easier, and to add to the flexibility of the venue. Theatre consultants Carr & Angier worked with ISG Interior Exterior and Stage Technologies to create a new working space over the stage area with four large movable lighting bridges, capable of load sharing to lift large touring productions without the need for custom rigging . Delstar Engineering supplied eleven lifts to form
504-659: A special project. A 1948 sketch by Martin shows the design of the concert hall as the egg in a box. But the strength of the design was the arrangement of interior space: the central staircase has a ceremonial feel and moves elegantly through the different levels of light and air. They were concerned that whilst the scale of the project demanded a monumental building, it should not ape the triumphal classicism of many earlier public buildings. The wide open foyers, with bars and restaurants, were intended to be meeting places for all: there were to be no separate bars for different classes of patron. Because these public spaces were built around
567-502: A third of the organ was reinstalled. The remainder was reinstalled between 2012 and 2013, and voicing completed in 2014. The Festival Hall was one of the first concert halls in the world to be built using the application of scientific principles, both theoretical and experimental. Hope Bagenal and his colleagues from the Building Research Station formed an integral part of the design team. The acoustic behaviour of
630-488: A wing running parallel to Waterloo Bridge behind the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium. Its features were to include a glass pavilion, new arts spaces, a literature centre, cafes and commercial units. The proposed alterations would have replaced the skate park which has developed in the undercroft , hailed as the birthplace of British skateboarding, with retail units to fund the new arts spaces. By May 2014,
693-834: Is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London , England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames , not far from Hungerford Bridge , in the London Borough of Lambeth . It is a Grade I listed building , the first post-war building to become so protected (in 1981). The London Philharmonic Orchestra , the Philharmonia Orchestra , the Orchestra of
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#1732780584279756-906: Is a complex of artistic venues in London , England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge ). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the National Poetry Library , the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room ), together with the Hayward Gallery , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracted 4.36 million visitors during 2019. Over two thousand paid performances of music, dance and literature are staged at Southbank Centre each year, as well as over two thousand free events and an education programme, in and around
819-530: Is free and material is borrowed through the national inter-lending library services or returned by post. The library provides support for schools nationally and locally. The venue has an exhibition and event space. Use and enjoy this place. Burrow in, borrow on. John Hegley speaking of the Poetry Library This is a pleasant library. I'd enjoy every minute But for the danger of meeting other poets in it. Wendy Cope speaking of
882-676: Is the fact that it exists at all. As Larkin said, it's the kind of thing that you don't expect England to do. It flies in the face of the way we generally run things, ie neglect things. I used it a lot when I was doing the Here to Eternity anthology. The stock is extremely good and very catholic – and the ancillary services, such as quote-checking, are wonderful." The library has a bronze bust of Dylan Thomas by Hugh Oloff de Wet. 51°30′20.56″N 00°07′0.34″W / 51.5057111°N 0.1167611°W / 51.5057111; -0.1167611 Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall
945-538: The Arts Council . The new buildings had their main entrances at first floor level and were integrated into an extensive elevated concrete walkway system linked to the Royal Festival Hall and the Shell Centre . This vertical separation of pedestrian and vehicle traffic proved unpopular due to the difficulty pedestrians had in navigating through the complex, and the dark and under-used spaces at ground level below
1008-516: The Building Research Station ; Henry Humphreys, Peter Parkin and William Allen. Martin was 39 at the time, and very taken with the Nordic activities of Alvar Aalto and Gunnar Asplund . The figure who really drove the project forward was Herbert Morrison , a Labour Party politician. It was he who had insisted that Matthew had Martin as his deputy architect, treating the Festival Hall as
1071-554: The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room (opened 1967) and the Hayward Gallery (1968), eventually becoming an independent arts organisation, now known as the Southbank Centre , in April 1998. The complex includes several reception rooms, bars and restaurants, and the Clore Ballroom, accommodating up to 440 for a seated dinner. A large head and shoulders bust of Nelson Mandela (by Ian Walters , created in 1985) stands on
1134-853: The Women of the World Festival , Madani Younis (previously Artistic Director at the Bush Theatre ) was appointed to the new role of Creative Director from January 2019, to work alongside Gillian Moore, the Director of Music, and Ralph Rugoff , Director of the Hayward Gallery. Younis resigned in October 2019. The role of artistic director remained vacant until the appointment of the former creative director of Manchester International Festival , Mark Ball who took up his position at
1197-707: The Age of Enlightenment , the London Sinfonietta , Chineke! and Aurora are resident orchestras at Southbank Centre. The hall was built as part of the Festival of Britain for London County Council , and was officially opened on 3 May 1951. When the LCC's successor, the Greater London Council , was abolished in 1986, the Festival Hall was taken over by the Arts Council , and managed together with
1260-507: The Hall were relined to change their acoustic qualities and the undulating plaster ceiling panels were completely reconstructed using more robust materials to provide greater warmth of sound and support for bass frequencies. New adjustable acoustic canopies were placed over the stage's width to allow bass frequencies to resonate in the space above the stage, and for treble frequencies to be reflected back to improve feedback to performers. The stage
1323-528: The Jubilee Gardens Trust and the car park on the remaining land beyond Hungerford Bridge was sold in 2013, to extend the gardens as part of the Shell Centre redevelopment. The site is next to the National Theatre and BFI Southbank , but does not include them. The closest Underground stations are Waterloo and Embankment . Misan Harriman became chairman of the Board of Governors of
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#17327805842791386-498: The Level Two foyer café had been able to spill out onto the terraces looking out on the river, and original entrances were positioned on the sides of the building, enabling visitors to arrive directly at the stairs leading to the auditorium. The foundation stone was laid in 1949 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee on the site of the former Lion Brewery, built in 1837. The building was constructed by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts at
1449-607: The Poetry Library The library was established in 1953 on the recommendation of the Poetry Panel of the Arts Council of Great Britain , with the remit of promoting modern and contemporary poetry. Opened by poets TS Eliot and Herbert Read , the library quickly grew beyond the capacity of premises and then the next, moving from Albemarle Street to Piccadilly , to Long Acre in Covent Garden and then to
1512-533: The Poetry Library, including Poet Laureate Ted Hughes . He worked on the Rattle Bag anthology at the library during the 1970s, writing of the experience: Very strange experience, squeezing every morning into modern poetry, and sitting in there all day all curled up with book clamped over mouth inhaling deeply, then coming out in the five or six o clock dark. Many other poets find their inspiration in
1575-593: The Southbank Centre in 2022, succeeding Susan Gilchrist, who had held the role since 2016. Elaine Bedell was appointed as Chief Executive in 2017; from 2009 to 2016 that position was held by Alan Bishop, former chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi International and Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information . September 2005 saw the arrival of Jude Kelly as the centre's Artistic Director. After Kelly stepped down in order to devote herself to
1638-692: The Southbank in January 2022. The history of Southbank Centre starts with the Festival of Britain , held in 1951. In what was described as "a tonic for the nation" by Herbert Morrison , the Labour Party government minister responsible for the event, the Festival of Britain aimed to demonstrate Britain’s recovery from World War II by showcasing the best in science, technology, arts and industrial design. It ran from May to September 1951, and by June
1701-468: The airflow in the auditorium. During the 2000s a building comprising seven commercial units was erected opposite the western side of the hall, with many of the Southbank administrative offices above. Shops and restaurants were added along the river frontage. The venue officially reopened to the public in June 2007. The refurbishment was estimated to have cost in the region of £91 million. A film documenting
1764-597: The auditorium, they also had the effect of insulating the Hall from the noise of the adjacent railway bridge. To quote Leslie Martin, "The suspended auditorium provides the building with its major attributes: the great sense of space that is opened out within the building, the flowing circulation from the symmetrically placed staircases and galleries that became known as the 'egg in the box'." The hall they built used modernism's favourite material, reinforced concrete, alongside more luxurious elements including beautiful woods and Derbyshire fossilised limestone. The exterior of
1827-428: The authorities, after prolonged experiment, had become convinced that no improvement in the hall's reverberation could be achieved by any further treatment of its surfaces. Longer reverberation would require modification to the main structure, reducing the seating capacity and the provision of a new ceiling. This was considered too costly, particularly as any hypothetical gain in 'warmth' or 'resonance' might well be by
1890-425: The building process. A specific problem for performers was the difficulty of hearing each other on the platform. Both the angled 'blast' side walls and the plywood reflectors projected sound away from the stage. The general consensus was that the hall was 'too dry', not reverberant enough, particularly at low frequencies, and that the bass tone was weak. The definition was 'excellent' for chamber and modern music, but
1953-451: The building was bright white, intended to contrast with the blackened city surrounding it. Large areas of glass on its façade meant that light coursed freely throughout the interior, and at night, the glass let the light from inside flood out onto the river, in contrast to the darkness which befell the rest of London after dusk. The hall originally seated 2,901. The cantilevered boxes are often described as looking like drawers pulled out in
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2016-483: The campaign group strongly opposing the proposals called Long Live Southbank had gained over 120,000 members. As well as the skateboarders, the National Theatre also had objections. In early 2014, the scheme was put on hold when the Mayor of London, then Boris Johnson , said he would not support removal of the skateboarding area from the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft to under Hungerford Bridge. The development of
2079-589: The concert hall organs of the Fairfield Halls , Croydon , and the Bridgewater Hall , Manchester : there are also innumerable organs in other countries which have been influenced by it. However, the design of the organ in its housing made maintenance difficult, and by 2000 it had become unusable. It was consequently completely removed before restoration of the Hall itself began in 2005, and after restoration and updating by Harrison & Harrison,
2142-500: The concert hall space was almost entirely intact until this re-modelling, which saw its stage canopy and walls rebuilt in plainer more rectangular forms. Seating was reduced slightly to 2,788, including the choir seating. This was carried out in the face of opposition from conservationists, led by the Twentieth Century Society . On the advice of acoustics firm, Kirkegaard Associates , the lack of reverberation and
2205-439: The difficult performance conditions for musicians were corrected by changes in the fabric of the auditorium. Surfaces that had previously absorbed sound were transformed to support and sustain that sound. The tapestries on the back walls of the boxes were gathered up to increase reverberation, but can be redeployed, together with additional absorbent blinds above the stage and around the Hall whenever needed. The wooden wall panels of
2268-490: The east side of the RFH, running along Belvedere Road towards the Shell Centre was removed in 1999–2000, to restore ground level circulation. The Waterloo Site (the late 1960s buildings) has been the subject of various plans for modification or reconstruction, in particular a scheme developed by Richard Rogers in the mid-1990s which would have involved a great glass roof over the existing three buildings. This did not proceed due to
2331-517: The following year most of it had been dismantled, following the victory of Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party in the general election of 1951. The Royal Festival Hall is the only building from the Festival of Britain that survives. From 1962 to 1965, the Royal Festival Hall was extended towards the river and Waterloo station and refurbished. The London County Council (later, Greater London Council ) decided in 1955 to build
2394-527: The future and that I was on another planet," said journalist Bernard Levin of his first impressions of the building. The 7,866 pipe organ was built during 1950–1954 by Harrison & Harrison in Durham , to the specification of the London County Council 's consultant, Ralph Downes , who also supervised the tonal finishing. It was designed as a well-balanced classical instrument embracing
2457-418: The hall was not as effective for music of the late Classical or Romantic period. Sir John Barbirolli commented, "Everything is sharp and clear and there is no impact, no fullness on the climaxes." A water source heat pump was used to heat the building in the winter and cool the building in the summer. Water was extracted from the River Thames below Hungerford Bridge using a centrifugal pump . Heat
2520-526: The high degree of National Lottery funding required and likely high cost. In 2000, a masterplan for the South Bank Centre site was produced. The main features were In line with the plans, in 2006-7 a new glass-fronted building was created to provide office space for Southbank Centre staff as well as a range of new shops and restaurants. This was inserted between the RFH and the approach viaduct to Hungerford Bridge . New restaurants and shops along
2583-582: The library. It's truly a place where poets and readers meet. As well as poets laureate, though, we see school students, families with young children, casual readers, critics, academics, teachers and artists 'squeezing every morning into modern poetry. Poet Philip Larkin was a vocal supporter. He wrote "The Poetry Library is one of the occasional pure flowerings of the imagination for which the English are so seldom given credit". Poet Laureate Andrew Motion echoes Larkin's sentiments: "The most extraordinary thing,
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2646-406: The low frequencies which critics and musicians thought did not adequately reverberate in the hall. 172 channels were used to cover a frequency range of 58 Hz to 700 Hz, increasing reverberation time from 1.4 to 2.5 s in the 125 Hz octave band. However, the system never fully solved the problem, and as it aged it became unreliable, occasionally emitting odd sounds during performances. It
2709-450: The low level Thames elevation of the Royal Festival Hall replaced an earlier cafeteria area and accompanied pedestrianisation of this frontage, achieved by removing the circulation road. Between 2005 and 2007 the Festival Hall auditorium was modified, the natural acoustic enhanced to meet classical music requirements. Seating was also reconfigured, together with upgrades to production facilities and public areas, with provision of new bar areas,
2772-546: The organ, the original organ builders, Harrison & Harrison , finally completed the reinstallation on 29 August 2013. Further work including re-balancing the pipework followed and was completed in time for the re-inauguration of the organ on 18 March 2014, exactly 60 years since it was first inaugurated. The first orchestral and organ concert was on 26 March 2014 and was recorded for the London Philharmonic Orchestra's own live label. The organ remains
2835-400: The performing arts venues. In addition, three to six major art exhibitions are presented at the Hayward Gallery yearly, and national touring exhibitions reach over 100 venues across the UK. Southbank Centre's site, which formerly extended to 21 acres (85,000 m ) from County Hall to Waterloo Bridge , is fronted by The Queen’s Walk . In 2012 management of Jubilee Gardens transferred to
2898-403: The refurbishment, entitled This Is Tomorrow , was directed by Paul Kelly and produced by Andrew Hinton. The organ has been reconfigured to suit the new architectural and acoustic requirements: its depth has been reduced by 110 cm, but the basic principles of the layout have been respected. Following a successful campaign to raise £2.3 million for a full restoration and reinstallation of
2961-448: The removal of most shops from foyer spaces, and refurbished lifts and WCs. In early 2013 the Southbank Centre unveiled plans, which soon became a source of vigorous debate, for alterations to the Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall dubbed the "Festival Wing", funded by Arts Council England . The proposal would have provided arts spaces in a new high level L-shaped building linking the Hayward Gallery and Purcell Room buildings and with
3024-413: The reverberation time by a system called 'assisted resonance' in which some of the acoustical energy lost to the surfaces of the hall was replaced by acoustical energy supplied by a loudspeaker. Each microphone and its associated loudspeaker was limited to the one frequency by placing the microphone inside a Helmholtz resonator fitted into the ceiling in a range of sizes which resonated over a wide range of
3087-471: The sacrifice of other positive qualities for which the Hall was generally esteemed, for example, its clarity, its comparative uniformity of acoustic response and its freedom from echo. It was known that the ancient Greeks had developed the technique of using vases built into their auditoria which added resonance to strengthen tone or improve its quality, though the effect was very weak. The Building Research Station developed an electronic method of lengthening
3150-679: The scheme was granted planning permission in May 2015. The Southbank Centre also received funding for the conservation and limited alteration scheme, known as "Let the Light In", from the Heritage Lottery Fund and was raising funds from individuals for the final £3 million required. This more conservation-orientated approach has also included joining with the National Trust to make the centre's 1960s buildings' contribution to
3213-403: The seats was measured and tested in a laboratory to enable more exacting design. Careful consideration of external noise problems was undertaken. Following the opening of the hall, there was some criticism of certain aspects of the acoustics. This was partially attributable to the fact that some of the original specifications for room surfaces determined by the acoustic consultants were ignored in
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#17327805842793276-407: The stage platform. These allow the stage layout to be reconfigured in many ways to suit the nature of the performance taking place. The choir benches can now be wheeled out to provide a level floor for staged and dance performances. The space between seat rows has been extended by 75mm by rebuilding the concrete floor of the stalls, with a loss of only 118 seats. Cooling has been introduced by reversing
3339-483: The third largest organ in Great Britain by number of pipes, with 7,866 pipes and 103 speaking stops. . The organ sounds uncomfortably constrained in the hall acoustic and is seldom played, either for recitals or to accompany orchestral concerts. 51°30′21.01″N 00°07′00.44″W / 51.5058361°N 0.1167889°W / 51.5058361; -0.1167889 Southbank Centre Southbank Centre
3402-521: The undercroft area was a key commercial and financing feature of the Festival Wing new building proposal and the scheme could not proceed in its proposed form without the commercial development or substitute funding which was not available in the amounts required. Arts Council England awarded a £16m grant towards a two-year programme of repairs and conservation work on the Queen Elizabeth Hall , Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery in May 2014 and
3465-474: The walkway between the hall and Hungerford Bridge approach viaduct. Originally made in glass-fibre it was repeatedly vandalised until re-cast in bronze. The complex's variety of open spaces and foyers are popular for social or work-related meetings. The closest tube stations are Waterloo and, across the river via the Jubilee Bridges, Embankment and Charing Cross . The Festival Hall project
3528-633: The walkways. Following abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986, the South Bank Board was formed to take over operational control of the concert halls. The following year, the South Bank Board took over the administrative running of the Hayward from the Arts Council . Collectively, the arts venues, along with Jubilee Gardens, became the South Bank Centre, responsible to Arts Council England as an independent arts institution (after transitional arrangements). The walkway on
3591-577: Was designed for the site by Terrance Conran . The library was closed from 2005 to 2007 during refurbishment of the Festival Hall building. Its re-opening was celebrated with London's first festival of literature. The Poetry Library: housing of arousing browsing Roger McGough speaking of the Poetry Library Commentators on BBC's Radio 4 have described it as one of the world's greatest libraries. Many poets and editors have developed their collections and anthologies at
3654-405: Was extracted from the river water using a heat pump. The compressors were driven by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, adapted to run on town gas . It was highly successful, providing both heating and cooling for the Hall, but over-sized, and was sold off after the Festival of Britain . As a structure, the new Festival Hall was technically stretched, and maintenance was soon required. The building
3717-465: Was led by London County Council 's then chief architect, Robert Matthew , who gathered around him a young team of talented designers including Leslie Martin , who was eventually to lead the project with Edwin Williams and Peter Moro , along with the furniture designer Robin Day and his wife, the textile designer Lucienne Day . The acoustical consultant was Hope Bagenal , working with members of
3780-435: Was much compromised by these changes and the later additions of raised concrete walkways around the building to serve the neighbouring Queen Elizabeth Hall , Purcell Room and The Hayward, built in 1967/8. Leo Beranek , an American acoustics engineer who had undertaken measurements of all of the world's leading concert halls , had identified that the interior treatment of the auditorium was absorbing too much sound. By 1962
3843-406: Was reconfigured to provide more space for performers, and the arrangement of walls around the stage was altered significantly. The original Robin Day designed seats were restored and reupholstered to make them more comfortable, and more acoustically appropriate. The major refurbishment presented an opportunity to add to the infrastructure of the venue to make the process of 'get-in' and 'get-out' in
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#17327805842793906-494: Was substantially altered in 1964 by adding the foyers and terraces to the river side of the building, extending the footprint by 30 ft, and more dressing rooms to the rear. Alterations to the façades overlooking the river removed the decorative tiles, altering the Scandinavian Modernism of the building's primary public face in favour of a plainer and hard-edged style. The building's original entrance sequence
3969-478: Was switched off in 1998, which returned the acoustics to their poor state, so bad that they make performers who play in it "lose the will to live", according to Sir Simon Rattle. The building underwent a substantial renovation between 2005 and 2007 aimed at improving the poor acoustics and building layout, led by architect Diane Haigh of Allies and Morrison with consulting engineer firms Max Fordham LLP (M&E) and Price & Myers (structural). The interior of
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