The South Bank Exhibition
Construction of the South Bank site opened up a new public space, including a riverside walkway, where previously there had been warehouses and working-class housing. The layout of the South Bank site was intended to showcase the principles of urban design that would feature in the post-war rebuilding of London and the creation of the new towns. These included multiple levels of buildings, elevated walkways and avoidance of a street grid. Most of the South Bank buildings were International Modernist in style, little seen in Britain before the war.
The architecture and display of the South Bank Exhibition were planned by the Festival Office's Exhibition Presentation Panel, whose members were:
- Gerald Barry, Director-General, Chairman
- Cecil Cooke, Director, Exhibitions, Deputy Chairman
- Misha Black
- G.A.Campbell, Director, Finances and Establishments
- Hugh Casson, Director, Architecture
- Ian Cox, Director, Science and Technology
- A.D.Hippisley Coxe, Council of Industrial Design
- James Gardner
- James Holland
- M.Hartland Thomas, Council of Industrial Design
- Ralph Tubbs
- Peter Kneebone, Secretary
The theme of the Exhibition was devised by Ian Cox.
The Exhibition comprised the Upstream Circuit: "The Land", the Dome of Discovery, the Downstream Circuit: "The People", and other displays.
Read more about this topic: Festival Of Britain
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