Tate Modern

History of Tate Modern
Built in two phases between 1947 and 1963, Bankside Power Station was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. He was also the architect of Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, University libraries in Oxford and Cambridge, Waterloo Bridge, and the designer of the famous British red telephone box.

The western half of the structure, which included the chimney, replaced an earlier coal-fired power station, in 1952. The eastern half of the building was brought into commission in 1963. In 1981 Bankside Power Station closed due to increased oil prices, making other methods of generating electricity more efficient. Between 1981 and 1994 when the Tate Gallery acquired an option on the site, the building remained unoccupied apart from an operational London Electricity sub-station that still remains.

In the late 1980s it became clear to Tate that its collection had outgrown its home on Millbank. It was decided to create a new gallery to house Tate's international modern art, and a search began for a suitable site to build on, or a building that could be converted.

The redundant Bankside Power Station proved an astonishing discovery; a building of enormous size, great architectural distinction, superbly sited opposite St Paul's Cathedral and in a fascinating and historic, if neglected area, next to the rebuilt Globe Theatre. An international architectural competition was held, which over seventy architects entered, including some of the world's most distinguished. The final choice was the young Swiss practice, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.


Credits : http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/