{"id":73424,"date":"2025-05-04T08:51:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T08:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/73424\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T08:51:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T08:51:17","slug":"the-revolutionary-high-tech-london-building-named-one-of-britains-most-at-risk-from-demolition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/73424\/","title":{"rendered":"The Revolutionary High-Tech London Building Named One of Britain\u2019s Most At Risk From Demolition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year the Twentieth Century Society (C20) puts together a list of Britain\u2019s most at-risk 20th and 21st architectural marvels. Earlier this month it published the 2025 edition of its Risk List<\/a>, with the included structures ranging from a Brighton<\/a> synagogue with a stained glass Holocaust memorial to a Bauhaus-inspired department store in Bradford.<\/p>\n

C20\u2019s 2025 Risk List intended to highlight \u2018outstanding twentieth and twenty-first century buildings across the country that are at risk from demolition, dereliction or neglect\u2019. Among the 10 selected structures is one from London \u2013 and there\u2019s every chance you haven\u2019t heard of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Patera Prototype<\/strong> in Newham is the only structure in the capital to feature in C20\u2019s 2025 At Risk list. So, what exactly is it? Well, for starters, here\u2019s what it looked like back in its 1980s heyday:<\/p>\n

\"Patera
\nPhotograph: C20 SocietyPatera Prototype, London (1982) <\/p>\n

\"Patera
\nPhotograph: Hopkins ArchitectsPatera Prototype, London (1982) <\/p>\n

\"Patera
\nPhotograph: Hopkins ArchitectsPatera Prototype, London (1982) <\/p>\n

The Patera was made as a prototype for a new type of industrial structure designed to be replicable and moveable. It\u2019s a significant example of \u2018high-tech architecture\u2019, a style that emerged in the 1970s with the aim of incorporating high tech industry and technology into building design.<\/p>\n

High-tech buildings are often identifiable for having visible beams, pipes and cables, as well as for being very flexible in use. Famous examples include stuff like Lloyd\u2019s of London<\/a> in the City or Paris\u2019 Pompidou Centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anyway, back to the Patera. The structure that currently sits in Newham was made in 1982 by Michael Hopkins Associates and Anthony Hunt Associates and it\u2019s one of only two remaining prototypes (the other is part of the Hopkins office in Marylebone). C20 describes it as being \u2018a prefabricated off-the-peg industrial structure\u2026 envisaged as a form of \u2018High-Tech Nissen hut\u2019\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Patera Prototype is undeniably a fascinating piece of design \u2013 but it could soon be lost as a document of architectural history. C20 says that the structure is currently threatened by the redevelopment of the Royal Docks.<\/p>\n

The Patera sits in a boatyard workshop on Albert Island, which is earmarked for a major \u00a3300 million development. The structure was rediscovered in 2020, and C20 had a listing application rejected in 2021. It has sat semi-dismantled since 2022.<\/p>\n

\"Patera
\nPhotograph: C20 SocietyPatera Prototype, London (2022) <\/p>\n

C20 isn\u2019t suggesting that the docks\u2019 redevelopment is halted by the Patera \u2013 just that it is relocated and restored. The charity reckons that \u2018this early relic of the High-Tech movement [could] become a cultural or creative venue\u2019.<\/p>\n

You can find all 10 buildings on C20\u2019s 2025 Risk List here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Did you see that A24 is taking over London\u2019s Prince Charles Cinema next month<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plus:\u00a0<\/strong>Who can get a blue plaque in London?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay in the loop: sign up to our\u00a0free Time Out London newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke \u2013 from news and reviews to events and trends. Just\u00a0follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year the Twentieth Century Society (C20) puts together a list of Britain\u2019s most at-risk 20th and 21st…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,6419,393,4884,257,6420,7825,6417,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-73424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-categories-things-to-do","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-news-city-life","14":"tag-outside-kl-london","15":"tag-things-to-do","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114448713940745888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}