Hadid project withdrawn

The Architecture Foundation has withdrawn its plans to build a radical new Zaha Hadid-designed building in London.

The shock decision was announced today and comes as a result of what the AF calls the ‘change in the fundraising climate’ as a result of the ‘recent dramatic fall in the stock market’.

Though funding for the building was ‘substantially in place’, the AF says that the ‘fit-out and occupation of the building would have incurred additional liabilities and costs’.

Its new venue in London’s Southwark Street was to have housed exhibitions, event spaces and administrative offices, on a site donated by Land Securities, which funded the project’s design and development.

Describing the move as a deferral, the AF says it will instead concentrate on expanding its future programme.