SALFORD, UK - An award-winning university building that won a prestigious architecture prize is set to be demolished less than 30 years after it was built, sparking widespread criticism. The Centenary Building was built for Salford University in northern England and won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize, which names Britain’s best new building, in 1996. However, the university has confirmed to CNN that it will be knocked down after sitting empty for several years.
“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,” said the university in a statement sent to CNN on Tuesday. “It has now been vacant for a third of its built life,” says the statement, which adds that the demolition is part of the “comprehensive” redevelopment of the local area. Architect Stephen Hodder said in a statement sent to CNN on Tuesday that the announcement had filled him with “great dismay.
” “This is not borne out of nostalgia, it being the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize winner, or indeed the importance of the building to the development of our practice,” said Hodder. “I simply cannot support the demolition of a building that is only thirty years old. Consideration really needs to be given to the carbon emissions from its demolition and replacement,” he added.
“‘Ageing infrastructure’ is not a justifica.