The Tricorn Centre was a shopping, nightclub and car park complex in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon[1] and took its name from the site's shape which from the air resembled a tricorn hat. Constructed in the mid-1960s, it was demolished in 2004. It was home to one of the first Virgin Megastores and housed the largest Laser Quest arena in Europe.
The centre was a well-known example of 1960s architecture, and in the 1980s it was voted the 3rd ugliest building in the UK.[2] In 2001, BBC Radio 4 listeners voted it the most hated building in the UK, and Charles, Prince of Wales described it as "a mildewed lump of elephant droppings",[3] although it was much admired by others, who saw it as an irreplaceable example of Brutalist architecture. Demolition of the Tricorn began on 24 March 2004 and took approximately nine months. As of 2023[update], the site is a ground level car park for the city centre.
- ^ Croft, Catherine (10 September 2008). "Rodney Gordon: Brutalist architect whose futuristic buildings have not all stood the test of time". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Other brutalist structures". The Times. London. 29 May 2008. p. 29.
- ^ "A brutal end for a brutal building". Today (BBC Radio 4). March 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2014.