BFI Film Centre London, South Bank Centre Architecture, British Film Institute Building Images, Architect, News

BFI Film Centre : South Bank Centre London

South Bank Cultural Quarter Arts Development in central London, England, UK

1 Jun 2016

New British Film Institute International Centre for Film, TV and the Moving Image

BFI PROGRESSES PLANS FOR NEW WORLD-CLASS CENTRE FOR FILM, TV AND THE MOVING IMAGE

BFI Centre for Film, TV and the Moving Image

Support pledged from London Mayor Sadiq Khan and film industry figures including Lord Puttnam, Helen Mirren, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Ralph Fiennes

The BFI has announced steps towards realising its ambition to build a new International Centre for Film, TV and the Moving Image, with an offer of support of up to £87m towards the £130m total project cost, subject to a tender process that began on the 25th of May 2016. The BFI hopes to open the new building to
the public in 2022.

The BFI is at the heart of film in the UK with a network of partners and alliances, filmmakers and audiences that together create an environment where film, TV and the moving image as a cultural art-form and economic driver can flourish. The major new cultural venue on London’s South Bank (on the existing Hungerford Car Park site) will be a flagship national home for this most diverse, influential and rapidly evolving art-form.

The new Centre will be the final piece in the development of London’s South Bank Cultural Quarter reflecting the UK’s worldwide reputation for creativity and achievement in film, TV and moving image. It will fuel the imagination of both the public and industry; giving visitors – from school children to award-winning creatives – new experiences in film whilst providing a hub for filmmakers, artists and industry professionals to meet, exchange ideas, showcase their work and develop skills.

Highlights include:

 Constantly evolving, rich programmes of film, TV and moving image to provide a
depth of experience that includes on-stage interviews and masterclasses, world
premieres, new releases, classics, restorations, film and live music events and
presentations using new and emerging technologies;

 Adventures in some of the earliest experiments in moving images – including a giant
zoetrope and new camera obscura to the latest wonders in holographic and virtual
reality storytelling;

 The best possible presentation of films in three cinemas (800, 180 and 120 seats) in
a technologically perfect environment screening on every format of film and digital
– enabling work to be shown as the filmmaker originally intended;

 Using the BFI’s world-leading knowledge of film and TV, a state-of-the-art education
and research centre will be open to school groups, students and families with free
access to the world’s biggest film collection, events and exhibition schedules and
expert education teams;

 A major gallery space to present exhibitions of international scale celebrating
Britain’s award-winning creativity and skills in areas such as animation and VFX to
showcasing the most intimate and rare film ephemera including scripts, private
letters and photographs;

 Specially commissioned new moving image installations from great filmmakers and
visual artists throughout the building’s public spaces;

 With over 7 million views of BFI archive collections online in 10 months, the UK’s
appetite to explore its film heritage is bigger than ever. New creative presentations
of the UK’s national collection of film and TV – the BFI National Archive – will give
the public a new way to enjoy over 100 years of filmmaking;

 The Centre will be a new home for the BFI London Film Festival, giving it a venue of
international stature.

The BFI is currently working closely with the other key landowners (Southbank Centre, Braeburn
Estates, Jubilee Gardens Trust and Lambeth Council) and the local community to ensure that the
development will be sensitively designed to complement an expanded Jubilee Gardens. The new
Centre will occupy a riverside position on London’s South Bank and as part of this development
Braeburn Estates will also create c.6,500 sqm of new green parkland on Jubilee Gardens,
dramatically extending the current space between The London Eye and Hungerford Bridge.

One of the ambitions for the Centre is to work with the BFI’s existing partners to share content
digitally across the UK through a network of nationwide venues that can also host touring exhibitions
and programmes and develop pioneering in-venue film education programmes. This builds on the
success of the BFI’s UK-wide strategy, including its VOD platform BFI Player, the BFI Film Audience
Network (FAN) and a national film education programme through Into Film.

The new Centre has been welcomed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Leader of Lambeth Council
Lib Peck and has been embraced by industry figures including Lord Puttnam, Idris Elba, Helen Mirren,
Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Tom Hiddleston, amongst others.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London is home to some of the world’s finest arts and
cultural organisations, one of which is undoubtedly the BFI, an internationally renowned centre for
independent cinema. These plans for a new state-of-the-art building offer a fantastic opportunity for
the capital’s moving image artists. As well as strengthening London’s position as a global leader for
the creative industries, the centre will create a new generation of TV and film lovers and give
Londoners of all ages the chance to experience film and its amazing heritage in the UK.”

Cllr Lib Peck, Lambeth Council leader said: “We are already very lucky to have the BFI in our
borough, it offers our residents great opportunities for learning, entertainment and inspiration. This
new centre will be a significant resource for our young people and I look forward to seeing it further
inspire their creativity.”

Josh Berger, BFI Chair said: “The UK’s thriving film, TV and screen industries are world-class, fuelled
by the vision and imagination of extraordinary British talent who are evolving our art-form at speed.
As the new Chair one of my priorities will be to drive forward the BFI’s new Centre to provide the
opportunity to showcase British talent, creativity and vision to the world. It will inspire the next
generation of award-wining British talent, filmmakers and visual effects geniuses, and give audiences
one of the best places in the world to experience film in all its forms.”

Amanda Nevill, BFI CEO said: “British film and British filmmakers deserve a home now more than
ever, a building that will express our optimism, our confidence and our excitement about Britain’s
leading role in the future of film, television and the moving image at home and internationally. It will
be a place where filmmakers and audiences will come together to be inspired by our creative legacy
and to be part of this most fast moving, dynamic and popular art-form.”

Alexandra Shipman (19), BFI Future Film Young Programmer and BFI Film Academy Graduate said:
“Being involved with the BFI Future Film Festival and BFI Film Academy has helped me enormously as
an aspiring filmmaker. I’ve learnt how to make films, had my films screened at BFI, and helped to
plan events for other young filmmakers. The prospect of a new BFI International Film Centre with first
class education and filmmaking facilities in London is really exciting, and would benefit me and other
young filmmakers enormously.”

Lord David Puttnam said: “British film and TV is the envy of the world. We combine being at the
forefront of the latest innovations in technology with a legacy of over 100 years of filmmaking driven
by an extraordinary and seemingly endless pool of talent and creativity.

Why then do we still not have a ‘home’ that reflects this? Tate Modern, The Royal Opera House, The
National Theatre, The British Museum – every other major art-form have buildings to be proud of
and which support their role in delivering culture to the world. This is what British film and TV have
long needed and deserved – it’s also the initiative I’ve waited my whole life to celebrate!”

Tom Hiddleston, actor said: “I believe this is the most exciting cultural development to happen in the
UK for some time. All the major art-forms in Britain quite correctly have national homes except one:
film. British film – the tradition which has created and produced so much extraordinary talent both
in front of and behind the camera – needs a national home, and the BFI is the organisation to build it.

The new BFI Centre would blow the doors wide open for everyone. Filmmaking is an art, a craft, and
it’s also a real job. British directors, British actors, British crews, and British films are famous all over
the world. The new development will help to democratise and diversify the pool of talent coming into
the industry.”

Helen Mirren, actor said: “The proposal for a new centre is a very exciting one and will bring young
people and their energies and understanding of the modern world into this amazing form of culture
and of self-expression – cinema.”

Idris Elba, actor said: “Britain is a great centre of creativity and film is at its heart. If we want to see
this continue to flourish, then we have to encourage young people from all backgrounds to think
about it as a career, which we aren’t going to do if we don’t shout about it. It’s time we had a proper
National home worthy of this 21st century art-form, and I’m excited for all of the brilliant
opportunities this will bring.”

Tom Hooper, filmmaker said: “I began making films as a child and I know first-hand the powerful
impact this medium has on young people who want to tell their stories. I couldn’t be more excited
about a place that captures the magic of the movies and fuels the imaginations and enthusiasm of
Britain’s next generation of filmmakers – the BFI’s new Centre promises to do exactly that.”

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, actor said: “The BFI is to culture what the Thames is to London… a vital life-force
quenching the city with inspiration. An oasis to the pioneering medium of film, the BFI belongs
alongside London’s iconic beacons of wonder and discovery; this new Centre will open up the magic
of moving image to inspire our filmmakers and film lovers of the future.”

Ralph Fiennes, actor and filmmaker said: “Film is one of the most potent and provocative art-forms
which the BFI nurtures through its continued support of British and international filmmaking. The
proposal for a high-profile and distinctive home for the BFI in the heart of London is very exciting. A
building that would not only utilise the most cutting-edge digital technology but would also provide
access to the extraordinary BFI National Archive. An essential destination for all filmmakers and film
lovers.”

Mel Brooks, filmmaker, actor, comedian, composer, songwriter said: “Please consider supporting
this visionary project that will create a new heartbeat for British filmmaking. Britain deserves a home
for film that reflects its stature internationally – a place that’s on a par with your other great
institutions like The British Museum, National Gallery, National Theatre – a home that shows the
world how important British film is and where years from now the next Powell and Pressburger may
be discovered and supported.”

Romola Garai, actress said: “Film has given Britain so much. So much pleasure, excitement,
knowledge and investment. It’s time to give it the home it deserves and the kind of recognition that
can develop our future filmmakers and film goers.”

John Hurt, actor said: “The BFI has spent the last 65 years under Waterloo Bridge – in that time
cinema and television has developed into the great modern art-form. It’s time we had a building that
reflects the scale of our achievements and our ambition for the future but more importantly gives
everybody the opportunity to fully experience the world of film in all its glory. Let’s give it the home it
deserves.”

David Walliams, actor and author said: “Film is the greatest art-form. It touches all of us. A film can
change the way we think or feel. But best of all it’s magic. It’s like watching our dreams become real.
The BFI is the best place in the world to celebrate this brilliant art-form. It would be fantastic if this
institution could expand and find a new home.”

Stephen Frears, filmmaker said:
“When I was young, film was at the centre of the Universe.
I learned my life from films.

Anything that gives film the importance it deserves gets my support.

Films are after all part of the export business.

This new Centre sounds great.”

BFI

British Film Institute

Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
The BFI is a Government arm’s-length body and distributor of Lottery funds for film. The BFI serves a
public role which covers the cultural, creative and economic aspects of film in the UK. It delivers this
role:

 As the UK-wide organisation for film, a charity core funded by Government
 By providing Lottery and Government funds for film across the UK
 By working with partners to advance the position of film in the UK
The BFI is the lead organisation for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film
environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:
 Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema
 Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future
generations
 Championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK – investing in creative,
distinctive and entertaining work
 Promoting British film and talent to the world
 Growing the next generation of film makers and audiences

The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Josh Berger.

bfi.org.uk / @bfi

Previously on e-architect:

15 Apr 2010

BFI launches search for Film Centre design team

Architect selection process begins first

The BFI has launched a competitive selection process for an architect who will lead on the design for its ambitious Film Centre project on London’s South Bank. An OJEU notice published 23rd April invites expressions of interest from architects, which the BFI will use to create an initial long list for review.

The brief is to provide (either by themselves or in partnership with others) full Architectural and Landscape Architectural services for the duration of the design and construction process through to completion.

Slightly later and in tandem, a process will also start to procure a complete Design team, including civil and structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineering consultants and other specialists. The successful architect will participate in the decision-making for the appointment of the Design team.

By early August the BFI hopes to have a shortlist of architects ready for invitations to tender and to create design responses or treatments to specific areas of interest. Following a panel process and technical evaluation, a decision to appoint a preferred architect will be made in November 2010.

BFI Film Centre London information from BFI Apr 2010

Location: south bank of River Thames

Nearest Tube: Embankment

Location: Royal Festival Hall, London, England, UK