Take a trip back through our biggest achievements
1951
We started building the iconic BBC Television Centre in West London, the backdrop for hundreds of thousands of hours of television, in 1951. The heart of the building is a circular block (officially known as the Main Block, but often referred to by staff as the 'doughnut') surrounded by studios, offices, engineering areas and the News Centre. Contemporary artists including John Piper and TB Huxley-Jones provided mosaics and statues. The building opened in June 1960 and was the hub for much of the BBC's output until the Corporation moved out in 2013.
1953
We built Broadgate House, one of the first buildings erected as part of Sir Donald Gibson’s “influential and pioneering” post-war redevelopment of the city centre. The building’s artwork, which includes the Coventry Martyrs mosaic designed by Hugh Hosking and created by Italian artist Antonetti. Today it is a Grade II listed building, home to numerous shops, offices and local government departments and the famous Godiva Clock.
1954
During the Blitz of World War II, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, but subsequent reconstruction work restored most of it in the early 1950s. In 1952, the restored interior of the Grand Hall of the Central Criminal Court was once again open. It has been extended so that it now has more than 600 rooms, including 18 courts and 74 cells, over 11 levels.
1964
This 11 storey office block — designed by Derek Stephenson & Partners — is one of the definitive examples of Brutalism in Scotland.
1967
Southbank Centre was built in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain and the concert halls were originally funded and managed by the London County Council and their successors, the Greater London Council. We built the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, which were opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1967. The Queen Elizabeth Hall has 917 seats and is host to chamber orchestras, quartets, choirs, dance performances, opera and music theatre. It is a great example of Brutalist architecture, which highlights the plasticity of concrete.
1968
BAM built the Hayward Gallery as part of the Southbank Centre: one of the country's most famous examples of Brutalist architecture. It includes five gallery spaces, two levels of indoor galleries and three outdoor sculpture courts. The Gallery was opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 9 July 1968 and was named after Sir Isaac Hayward, then leader of the London County Council. The first exhibition was a major retrospective of Henri Matisse paintings.
1972
Famous for broadcasting many popular TV shows such as This Morning, The Jonathan Ross Show and QI, works started in 1970 on the distinctive Southbank Television Centre, also known as the London Studios. We built the 21 storey Kent House tower along the Southbank, which includes a distinctive black and white layered cladding. Also part of the scheme, we built the main studio block which housed studios 1, 2, and 3, the restaurant, studio cafe, offices, makeup and wardrobe departments. Adjacent to this, we built programme production offices, edit suites, dubbing suites, VTR studio booths and graphic booths.
1973
On the site of the former Phipps brewery, we built the first UK Carlsberg brewery, designed by Danish architect Knud Munk. Its iconic design, resembling a Danish longship, has become synonymous with the town and was awarded the Financial Times Industrial Architecture Awards in 1975. It was opened in 1974 by Princess Benedikte of Denmark.
Now part of the City of Glasgow College, the Glasgow College of Food Technology was one of the last city centre colleges to be built. We provided excellent catering and food manufacturing facilities to support courses such as hotel management, catering, food science, baking and general studies. The College’s restaurant and bar is still used for training and popular with locals.
