Alistair Hardaker
Image: School of Art, George Wallis Building, University of Wolverhampton © Historic England Archive
1960s Wolverhampton building with Pop Art influence and modular concrete panels gains protection
A Brutalist university building featuring an exo-skeleton of pre-cast modular panels has been granted Grade II listed status by CDMS on the advice of Historic England.
The University of Wolverhampton School of Art, also known as the MK Building, was designed by Diamond Redfern and Partners in collaboration with the borough architect. The eight-storey structure has pre-cast modular panels hung from a concrete frame, creating a facade with a sculptural pattern.
The concrete panels and repeated pattern demonstrate the influence that the Pop Art movement, made famous by artists including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, was having on architecture at the time.
Construction began in 1966 and completed in 1969, coinciding with the College of Art merging with the College of Technology to form Wolverhampton Polytechnic.
The building also has a close association with the Blk Art Group. Formed in 1979 and originally named the Pan-Afrikan Connection, many of the founding members were students at the polytechnic, including Keith Piper, Marlene Smith and 2024 Turner prize nominee Claudette Johnson.
Members of the group were largely children of Caribbean migrants, raised in the industrial West Midlands. Their first exhibition, Black Art An’ Done, was held at Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 1981. The group organised the First National Black Art Convention in October 1982, held at the College of Art, which is recognised as key to the formation of the British Black arts movement.
Deborah Williams, Regional Director for the Midlands at Historic England, said the building “holds a prominent place in the centre of the city, and in the hearts of many locals.
“The striking Brutalist design, combined with the important social history of the British black art movement, mean the building meets the high bar for post-war listing and I’m pleased DCMS agreed with our recommendation to recognise the significance of this distinctive piece of 20th century history.”
