| Carlisle Civic Centre | |
|---|---|
 Carlisle Civic Centre | |
| Location | Rickergate, Carlisle |
| Coordinates | 54°53′51″N2°56′05″W / 54.8975°N 2.9347°W |
| Built | 1964 |
| Built by | John Laing & Son |
| Architect | Charles B. Pearson and Partners |
| Architectural style | Modernist style |
  Shown in Cumbria | |
Carlisle Civic Centre is a municipal building in the Rickergate, Carlisle, England. It was the headquarters of Carlisle City Council.
The civic centre was commissioned to replace the aging Town Hall in the Market Place. [1] The new building, which was designed by Charles B. Pearson and Partners in the Modernist style and built by John Laing & Son at a cost of £820,000, was completed in March 1964. [2] The design involved a tower, 44 metres (144 ft) high, [3] as well as a separate two-storey octagonal building to accommodate the council chamber. [4] In 1965, a huge back-lit mural depicting local scenes, which had been painted by Trewin Copplestone, was hung in the council chamber. [5] The octagonal building, sometimes referred to as "the rotunda" was commended in the 1966 national Civic Trust Awards. [6]
Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Carlisle Civic Centre in March 1978. [7]
George Ferguson, a former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, caused controversy when he referred to the civic centre as a "soulless office block" in an article in the Sunday Times in October 2004. [8] The council undertook a consultation on options for developing the site in 2014; the consultation generated a strong response including a petition which demonstrated that there was considerable local opposition to any proposals which involved demolition of the building. [8] The civic centre was damaged when it was completely surrounded by water during the local flooding which badly affected Carlisle and its surrounding areas in December 2015. [9]
In May 2020, the council approved a scheme of works, to be undertaken by local contractor Story Construction, to refurbish the main building at a cost of £3.6 million; the scheme chosen also involved the demolition of the octagonal building which accommodated the council chamber. [10] [11] The works additionally involved the re-configuration of the ground floor of the main building to create a more versatile council chamber, a new customer contact centre and additional meeting space. [12]
In January 2021 The Guardian listed the Civic Centre as one of Britain's Brutalist buildings most at risk of demolition and development. It was included in Brutal North: Post-War Modernist Architecture in the North of England, Simon Phipps's photographic study of Brutalist architecture. [13]
Carlisle City Council was abolished in April 2023, on the formation of the new unitary authority, Cumberland Council, and the Civic Centre serves as a meeting place for the new council. [14]