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Sheffielders describe it as “alien-shaped” and like a “kettle” but it seems the former National Centre for Popular Music may soon be consigned to history, with the distinctive building at risk of being bulldozed.
The Marmite structure – soon to be vacated by its current occupant – is one of three in the UK built around the turn of the millennium to feature on the annual at-risk list from the charity Twentieth Century Society (C20), which campaigns to save architecturally interesting modern buildings.
It is the first time millennium-era projects have featured on the list, which highlights outstanding 20th and 21st-century buildings across the country at risk from demolition, dereliction or neglect.
Alongside Sheffield’s former pop-themed visitor centre – which first opened in 1999 and closed 15 months later to headlines describing it as the “top of the flops” and “rock horror show” – the list contains the National Wildflower Centre in Knowsley (2000) and Archaeolink Prehistory Park in Aberdeenshire (1997), both of which are abandoned.
Also featured is the brutalist east stand of St James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, the wooden Grand National rollercoaster in Blackpool, which was opened in 1935, and Caerphilly’s Penallta Pithead Baths, a now-derelict miners’ washhouse built in 1938.
Of the 10 buildings on the list, six are in the north of England, exposing a north-south divide in how historical buildings are looked after, which is “big and getting bigger”, according to Oli Marshall, C20 campaigns director.
He said a lack of funds meant councils were less able to protect heritage sites than in the past, adding: “Moreover, the money and investment in Britain always seems to flow in one direction.
“We have to ask ourselves, if some of these outstanding buildings were located in London or the south-east, would they already have been restored or rehabilitated by now? The answer is almost certainly yes.
“It’s a situation that’s unjust, but also risks reshaping our national history in favour of what survives, versus what is lost.”
In Sheffield, locals are divided over the building. Hayley Glover, 43, who owns the cafe opposite, Kollective Coffee & Kitchen, thought the building should stay open to the public as she fondly remembers it being built 26 years ago.
“I think it’s a shame that it’s sat there empty, and whilst it’s empty the square on the opposite side of the road is getting a lot of undesirables in there.
“So obviously, footfall getting in and out the building for us is a good thing. It would be a shame for it to be closed.”
The building was bought in 2004 by Sheffield Hallam University and was used as its students’ union, but is now due to be vacated, with questions hanging over its future. The university is not ruling out knocking it down entirely.
Cory Anson, 30, a sales worker, thought the building had some aesthetic appeal: “It’s a beautiful building. I did a course there once, it’s just a really nice building. I think it’s a staple of Sheffield as well, to be honest. Like everybody knows about the kettle building.”
The four giant stainless steel drums that make up the structure surround an atrium with a glazed roof.
For Molly Mallette, 26, who works supporting women in the criminal justice system, and her boyfriend, Louis Binns, 25, who works at the university, the building elicits some debate.
To Mallette it is “hideous”. She added: “I think it’s a real eyesore in the area, to be honest. I don’t really know what it’s meant to be. I’ve got no other word for it, I just don’t think it’s very attractive.”
Binns disagreed, however. “It’s interesting to look at,” he said. “From working at Hallam Help, when directing students it’s incredibly easy because it obviously stands out.”
Kristina Drmic, 24, a former student who now works at the students’ union, pointed to the unmissable nature of the building.
“It’s very easy for students to find us because the description of it is very unique. Some people call it the alien-shaped building, some people call it the four kettles.
“I think the shape of it is part of the Sheffield culture and I think it should stay and shouldn’t get demolished.”
Anthea Page, 58, who works in communications, said the building was redundant and she would gladly welcome its closure.
“It doesn’t serve its current purpose,” she said. “It’s used for the Hallam students’ union and it’s not well used, it’s not very well placed. The entrances aren’t in the right place.”
