New Scotland Yard (building)

New Scotland Yard
General information
Architectural style Neo-classical
Construction started 1935
Completed 1940
Owner Metropolitan Police Service
Technical details
Floor area 8,691 m2 (93,550 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect William Curtis Green

New Scotland Yard, formerly known as the Curtis Green Building, and before that Whitehall Police Station,[1] is a building in Westminster, London. It is located on the Victoria Embankment and is situated within the Whitehall Conservation Area. It neighbours the Norman Shaw and Ministry of Defence buildings, together with Richmond and Portcullis House. Since November 2016, it has been the headquarters of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the fourth such premises since the force’s foundation in 1829.

The New Scotland Yard building was designed by the English architect William Curtis Green in 1935 who was commissioned to build an annex to the existing Norman Shaw Buildings which had been the Metropolitan Police's headquarters since 1890. The three buildings were split off in 1967 with the Norman Shaw buildings being taken over by the British Government. The annex was retained by the police who used it as the base for their territorial policing department.

In 2013 the MPS were forced by the British Government to introduce austerity measures. The former "New Scotland Yard" in the neighbouring, Broadway, was sold and the force headquarters was relocated to the Curtis Green Building after extensive renovations. It was renamed from the Curtis Green Building to New Scotland Yard in 2016.

History

New Scotland Yard, alongside the Norman Shaw Buildings (centre) and Portcullis House (left) on Victoria Embankment

The stone-fronted, neo-classical building was designed by the English architect William Curtis Green. Construction started in 1935 and was finished five years later. The building was constructed as a third building and an extension to the then–New Scotland Yard building,[2][3] which consisted of two buildings that had been completed in 1890 and 1906 and were connected by a bridge. The two structures are now known as the Norman Shaw Buildings.[4]

The Curtis Green Building served as part of the Met's three-building headquarters during the Second World War and housed the forensics and technology departments. In 1967, the force relocated its main headquarters to 10 Broadway and sold the two Norman Shaw buildings to the British Government.[3] The Curtis Green Building, however, remained a police building and became a sub-HQ for the force's territorial department until 2010. Before its 2015–2016 refurbishment, the building's dimensions were 8,691 m2 (93,550 sq ft), with a total capable capacity of 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft).[2]

In 2013 it was announced by the Met that its headquarters would be relocated from 10 Broadway to the Curtis Green Building as part of the force's drive to reduce costs. The building was redesigned and extended in a multi-million pound redevelopment during 2015–16.[2] It was renamed "New Scotland Yard".[5] The refurbishment contract was awarded to the architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, who redesigned the building, and the project was engineered by the Arup Group Limited, with project and cost management duties undertaken by Arcadis and construction responsibilities undertaken by the Royal BAM Group.[6] The MPS retained the revolving "New Scotland Yard" sign and moved it along with the Black Museum,[2] to the new site.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "New Metropolitan Police HQ announced as Curtis Green Building", BBC News, 20 May 2013, accessed 3 April 2015
  2. 1 2 3 4 " Curtis Green: Metropolitan Police Service New HQ Building", Royal Institute of British Architects, accessed 3 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 "The Norman Shaw Buildings" House of Commons fact sheet, p. 4, accessed 3 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Daylight robbery? New Scotland Yard is bought for £370m by developer" by Julia Kollewe, The Guardian, 9 December 2014, accessed 3 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 "BAM nabs £30m Scotland Yard HQ contract", Construction Enquirer website, accessed 3 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "New Metropolitan Police headquarters project underway", Arup Group Limited website, accessed 3 April 2015.

Coordinates: 51°30′10″N 0°7′27″W / 51.50278°N 0.12417°W / 51.50278; -0.12417

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