The National Theatre, London, UK
“It’s so ugly we had to give the architect a knighthood.”
While I admit that I may have dreamt this, and in the very best case I am paraphrasing, I recall the line being the words of Sir Humphrey Appleby, a main character in the BBC’s classic comedies, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. It was referring to the National Theatre in London’s South Bank, a building design that has divided opinion since its completion in 1976 – the year the architect, Denys Lasdun, was knighted.
Prince Charles described the structure as “a clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London without anyone objecting”, although
