Stockwell Bus Garage

The building that Will Self says is London's most important.

Location: Lansdowne Road, Stockwell

Description: The Stockwell bus garage was designed with modernist ideals by Adie, Button and Partners, with the engineer A.E. Beer, and was opened in 1952.

There was a steel shortage at the time, so they used concrete for the thinly arched roof structure instead of the steel girders which had previously been the norm. At the time of construction it was the largest unsupported area (6814 square metres) under one roof in Europe.

Since 1988 the garage has been a Grade II* listed building reflecting its importance in post-war architectural and engineering history.

In 2011 it was championed by author Will Self to an architectural forum of experts at the Royal Academy that this is London's Most Important Building.

Themes: Architecture Architecture Theme