Royal Festival Hall: A Living Icon

The Royal Festival Hall (RFH) - an important example of modernism in architecture and one of London's best-loved buildings - was built as a beacon of hope and renewal after the Second World War, and quickly became popular. In this new book, a selection of contributors - architects, technicians, musicians, historians and cultural programmers - tell the varied stories of the building and the people who use it. The book is illustrated with photography specially commissioned from renowned architectural photographer Edmund Sumner, and contains 21 written contributions on different aspects of the RFH, from its history as a piece of architecture to the story of the famous organ, from the approach to literature and spoken word to the life of the production team. The building's emergence as a destination for all, whether to enjoy a performance by a world-famous symphony orchestra, a dance class, a poetry reading or just a cup of coffee, is considered in the context of the intentions of its original planners and those who have led, maintained and refurbished it since. This book offers an invaluable record of the history of this celebrated building in the first 75 years of its life, and looks to the future as a centre of cultural programming - both weathering and shaping change - for many more decades to come.

• Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Royal Festival Hall
• Written by architects musicians, historians and cultural programmers who have been closely involved with the building and its renovation
• A fascinating and thought-provoking book for anyone interested in the development of London's cultural life