New C20 campaign celebrates buildings turning 30

Latest News Tue, Nov 26, 2024 7:28 AM

In November 1994, the first Eurostar service pulled out of London’s Waterloo Station, and the continent was suddenly on the doorstep.

The opening of the Channel Tunnel was the culmination of the 20th century’s biggest single civil engineering and political project. Physically connecting Britain and mainland Europe for the first time in their histories, newspapers at the time declaring: ‘No longer an Island’.

Now, C20 Society is calling for the historic former Waterloo International Terminal to be nationally listed, as part of our new Coming of Age campaign – an annual hit-parade that celebrates the best buildings across the country turning 30 years old, and so becoming eligible for listing.

Image: Waterloo International Terminal, Lambeth – Nicholas Grimshaw Architects, 1988-94 - Grimshaw

The selection criteria for listing buildings are set by the government Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with Historic England providing detailed guidance and carrying our research on each specific case.

Along with the primary considerations of ‘special architectural and historic interest’, the principles state that buildings under 30 years of age are not usually considered eligible because ‘they have yet to stand the test of time.’ However, when a building reaches this key age threshold, there’s currently no mechanism to proactively review or assess its heritage value, until it comes under threat of demolition or harmful alteration. (NB. In exceptional circumstances, buildings may be listed when they are under 30, but only if they are both of exceptional quality and at risk of demolition).

The Coming of Age campaign addresses this directly, by identifying 10 outstanding buildings across the country that opened in 1994, and recommending they be added to the National Heritage List. This hit-parade of heritage from the recent past celebrates the richness and diversity in our built environment, set within the social, political and cultural contexts of the day. The initiative it set to become an annual fixture, with the Society’s 2025 Coming of Age list highlighting the best buildings of 1995, and so on.

Given that around 30 years after construction is often the point at which buildings (however well constructed in the first place) are likely to require their first major refurbishment, any listing designation at this point would provide a timely opportunity to ensure that such works recognise and respond to what makes a building significant. Encouraging retrofit with the long-term, sustainable future as a key objective.

Approaching 30 years old is also often the moment in a building’s lifespan when it is most likely to be at the nadir of its popularity and fashionability, and therefore potentially at its most vulnerable. Why wait until the bulldozers are poised, to intervene and try to protect an outstanding building, when it is possible to make an objective judgement far earlier?

Featured News

Specification news
MPs launch new inquiry looking at social housing and...

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has today launched a...

Read More >>

Specification news
Significant barriers preventing industry increasing...

One year after the General Election, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has released...

Read More >>

BUILDING PRODUCT LIBRARY - LATEST BROCHURES

HPS200 Ultra Case Study Brochure Brochure

HPS200 Ultra Case St...
By Tata Steel

Download Now >>

Confidex Datasheet Brochure

Confidex Datasheet
By Tata Steel

Download Now >>

Prisma UK 2024 Brochure

Prisma UK 2024
By Tata Steel

Download Now >>

HPS200 Ultra UK Brochure

HPS200 Ultra UK
By Tata Steel

Download Now >>

Amtico Bio Support Document  Brochure

Amtico Bio Support D...
By Amtico

Download Now >>

BUILDING PRODUCT DIRECTORY - LATEST PRODUCTS

​The Confidex® Guarantee
​The Confidex® Guarantee

Offers the most comprehensive guarantee for pre-finished steel products in Europe and provides peace...

Read More >>

Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®
Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®

Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®Super durable guaranteed performance.Designed to withstand even the most...

Read More >>

Prisma
Prisma

Colorcoat Prisma®Aesthetics that last, guaranteed.Colorcoat Prisma® demonstrates a step change by...

Read More >>

CONSTRUCTION VIDEOS - LATEST VIDEOS

Mira Vista Heatloop
Mira Vista Heatloop

Mira Showers is delighted to introduce the new Mira Vista HeatloopTM – an innovative and stylish...

Watch Now >>

Why our Canopies Last Longer
Why our Canopies Last Longer

https://www.aandslandscape.co.uk/ Find out why A&S Landscape Canopies last longer than alternatives....

Watch Now >>

Enclosed Dining Canopy - Hampton Gardens School
Enclosed Dining Canopy - Hampton Gardens School

A&S Landscape designed and installed a large enclosed, curved roof canopy for Hampton Gardens School...

Watch Now >>