Campus buildings make the grade
Famous campus landmarks, including the Roger Stevens Building, Edward Boyle Library and Henry Price Residence, have been given protected status as Grade II listed buildings by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the recommendation of English Heritage.
The buildings, which created world-wide interest when they were built, were designed by architects Chamberlin Powell and Bon (CPB), who were also responsible for London’s Barbican Centre. They wanted to create a design that reflected the best in modern architecture and new ideas in education, and carefully studied the way in which people moved about and used the existing campus. The result was a plan which went on to have huge influence on the design of other UK campuses.
Robert Sladdin, Director of Estates until his retirement earlier this year, said: “In 1958, CPB was given the task of transforming the University for the modern age, and
the masterplan they produced did not disappoint. Their work was visionary and campus was transformed.
“Initially, the buildings were warmly greeted, but over time the ‘brutalist’ architecture began to divide opinion, and to an extent, that ambivalence remains to this day.”
English Heritage’s Nick Bridgland, said: “These buildings at the University rank with the Barbican in terms of scale and significance. But what marks Leeds out is that this is the first attempt to create an integrated university campus of this kind. The brutalist design of the individual buildings is not to everyone’s taste, but it represents an important and internationally significant milestone in 20th century architecture which is why we recommended listing them.”
