Stirling Prize-winning Salford building to be demolished

The Centenary Building, which won the inaugural design gong in 1996, will be bulldozed as part of the wider £2.5bn Crescent regeneration project.

The University of Salford-owned building was constructed to house the institution’s spatial, graphic, and industrial design department but has been vacant for almost a decade.

Designed by Hodder + Partners, the building is one of only two North West winners of the Stirling Prize in the 28-year history of the award. The other is the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, which won the award in 2014.

A spokesperson for the University of Salford said: “While the Centenary Building has been part of our university estate for a number of decades. Unfortunately, its ageing infrastructure means it no longer meets modern standards and requirements.

“It has now been vacant for a third of its built life. Careful consideration has been given to the history of the building, and the partnership, which includes Salford City Council, ECF and the University of Salford, intends to demolish the building as part of the comprehensive development of Adelphi Village.”

The 100-home Wilohaus is currently being constructed on the building’s former car park as part of the Adelphi Village plans. The nearby Farmer Norton car park is also earmarked for redevelopment.

The university’s announcement about the decision to demolish the Salford building comes after the Twentieth Century Society submitted an application to Historic England to have it listed.

If this is successful, the university’s plans to demolish the building could be scuppered.

Stephen Hodder, who designed the scheme, hopes this is the case.

“It is with great dismay that we received the news that Salford University intends to demolish the Centenary Building,” he said.

Hodder, who is a past chair of the Construction Industry Council’s climate change committee, said his dismay is “not borne out of nostalgia…or indeed the importance of the building to the development of our practice” but rather due to the environmental impact of demolishing the building.

“I simply cannot support the demolition of a building that is only thirty years old,” Hodder said.

The Crescent framework drawn up in 2021 to guide the redevelopment of 250 acres around the university said that “alternative uses for the building will be supported”.

“The facility could include uses including a GP, dentist practice, library, creche, and/or community space,” according to the framework.

Hodder added: “We’re not aware that there has been an exhaustive effort to re-purpose the building.

“For a university that promotes its sustainability credentials, the intention to demolish surely undermines the credibility of its policy. We urge it to reconsider, and hope the architectural community and wider industry collectively exclaim its concerns.”