September 20, 2026
Embankment Place, Charing Cross, Saved for Posterity
A very personal blogpost today...
Back in May I wrote a newsletter to our subscribers (you can join bly clicking subscribe) about Sir Terry Farrell's Embankment Place, and asked those of you who were able to support the 20th Century Society's bid to have it listed. Many of you did. Thank you.
This week DCMS granted 1 Embankment Place Grade II listing. Farrell's Post Modern river palace above Charing Cross now has statutory protection. Historic England's report calls it "one of the most prominent, architecturally ambitious schemes ever designed by Farrell", and singles out the stepped arches and towers that give the building its silhouette.
You can read the full list entry on Historic England's website here.
The 20th Century Society's write up is here.
Browse our collection celebrating it HERE
For a British Post Modernist building, that is not a small thing. These landmarks are still routinely dismissed next to their High Tech contemporaries. Years ago I submitted the listing application for Terry's Comyn Ching myself, which became the first Postmodern building in England to be protected.
I'm honoured that I was one of two experts cited in the listing, the other being the 20th Century society:
"ADAM NATHANIEL FURMAN, author of several books on Post-Modernism in architecture, including one
co-authored by Sir Terry Farrell, wrote in support of the building’s listing. His comments are summarised by
us as follows:
* the building is a seminal example of an air rights building, demonstrating structural and architectural
ingenuity while reconciling the demands of large-scale office development with the intricate scale of a central
London streetscape.
* the Villiers Street elevation demonstrates a sophisticated urbanism which addresses the historic grain
whilst being creatively contemporary in its expression;
* it is one of three buildings by Farrell (together with Alban Gate and the SIS Building at Vauxhall) which
represents the high-water mark for British Postmodernism, a movement of global significance. Embankment
Place demonstrates a high level of craft, material quality and contextual sensitivity."
co-authored by Sir Terry Farrell, wrote in support of the building’s listing. His comments are summarised by
us as follows:
* the building is a seminal example of an air rights building, demonstrating structural and architectural
ingenuity while reconciling the demands of large-scale office development with the intricate scale of a central
London streetscape.
* the Villiers Street elevation demonstrates a sophisticated urbanism which addresses the historic grain
whilst being creatively contemporary in its expression;
* it is one of three buildings by Farrell (together with Alban Gate and the SIS Building at Vauxhall) which
represents the high-water mark for British Postmodernism, a movement of global significance. Embankment
Place demonstrates a high level of craft, material quality and contextual sensitivity."
While I am thrilled that the main building has been listed, preserved on the skyline for posterity, I am very sad (and somewhat confused as to why) Terry's brilliant Villiers St facade was carved out of the listing, and so will likely be lost. It is better than losing it all for sure...
Which brings me to the reason our Terry Farrell collection exists at all.
It was one of the first collections we ever made - I wrote two books with Terry, worked in his office, and wanted the buildings on my own wall. Everything in that collection was drawn out of genuine affection for him and what he built.
I talked at length about some advice Terry gave me back when I worked for him in this podcast I recorded recently.
And if you want the wider story, Postmodernism: Architecture That Changed Our World is still available to you at 30% off with the code POMO30.
If you love Postmodern Acrhitecture, or are Pomo-curious (if you like other modern era architectures, I assure you that there is a treasure trove of beauty and interest to discover in buildings of this style, as much as with Brutalism or Modernism), do check out our Postmodernism collection.
Thank you again for speaking up, it genuinely counted.
Warmest regards,
Adam.