Tricorn Centre, Portsmouth UK

Tricorn Centre Demolishion in Portsmouth UK. The architect Owen Luder who designed the building voted Britain's ugliest was built in 1966 and was Pulled down in 2004.

[@jennycampbell3504]

I've lived in NY for 17 years now but in the 90s, this was one of the coolest most interesting bits of architecture that Pompy had. I used to play Tekken in the arcade with my brother.

[@davewelchywelch8892]

And 14 years later. The "temporary" car park is still there. And the amazing entertainment and shopping experience is nowhere to be seen?!!

[@rogergalley3572]

It’s 2021 and it’s been replaced with nothing., and what’s left of the shopping centre is also disappearing.

[@123boat]

Politictions promises 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@tonywise198]

and in 2022....

[@everyhustlehelps]

2023 just student blocks and more student blocks

[@neilrobinson7019]

Whole city centre is pretty much dead now

[@neilwalsh4058]

Another gorgeous piece of 1960's modernist architecture flattened for the sake of it. How sad that us Brits are obsessed with demolishing icons from the last decade before the demise of our once great country

[@BalearicBeatnik]

There was an amazing comic store upstairs hidden away, domino records selling vinyl, and a Laser Quest opened shortly before it was slated for demolition. I seem to remember the lads that ran it done a bunk with all the money and vanished. The old market was mad, I love brutalist architecture and actually did some photography of it as an art student In Pompey. The walls on the roof were covered In spray can memorials painted by people who knew the poor souls who jumped off the top. It’s a strange old building and it had stalactites hanging from the concrete ceilings from all the rain and water dripping in.

[@pickledegg1989]

A sad end to a building of great character and candour. Those local government officials and people of Portsmouth should be ashamed for letting the Tricorn fall into such a state of disrepair. As Jonathan Meades said in 'Bunkers Brutalism and Bloodymindedness': "You don't buy a car then never get it serviced".

[@Powered_By_Pies]

"Demolition of the building will make way for a new shopping and leisure entertainment facility..." Yeah, that went well. 11 years on and it's still a fucking car park. Prime location for a multi-use venue/arena.

[@JamesStevensonPhoto]

15 years on and it still is!!

[@bobritasue]

years and years and it still is...@@JamesStevensonPhoto

[@bobbiescrisps9208]

2024 and still nothing

[@Brit-jr-1988]

Lazy lying bastards 😂

[@PompeyMatt17]

I was born and raised in Portsmouth. Tricorn was a complete dump from my earliest recollections right through to when it was pulled down.

[@nekocekoBiHMK]

That's just sad. It really was a magnificent structure

[@gravijiga]

wow, people really hated that building o-o I would have loved to see the inside. Brutalist buildings always have the most interesting layouts and decor.

[@ispi_video_photo]

"It will be used as a car park for one year, then development of Northern Quarter will start" were the words of PCC. Then one evening, a contractor tells me "We are laying a 20 year surface for the car park". The clues were there I guess.

[@TheSoupdragon1968]

Another missed opportunity by my council. We now have a flat piece of tarmac.... Such a shame the council had just not looked after it in the first place. Or they could of just given the whole site to Ikea, now that really would of drawn people into the city......

[@kaytsippy1981]

They just needed to clean it. It was a stunning piece of Brutalist architecture. So sad.

[@DuffMan.]

I remember being dragged there to the shops in the mid 80s... and whilst I was only a kid, the sort of sleazy dystopian energy of the place captivated me... didn't even know what brutalism was then. Seeing photos of the Tricorn now conjures up strong, vivid, and nostalgic memories of my childhood and of the 80s on the South Coast.

[@presariou]

How nice of you putting all the videos together!well done, great job!

[@ArenS.07]

Are you alive

[@MsVixxen]

The ugliest buildings in Portsmouth today are no doubt the Civic Offices in Guildhall Square. Once the Square was beautiful but PCC ruined it in the 70's with a building that looks like a cheap, dilapidated hotel resort from the 60's.

[@KaitainCPS]

+Brythonic Fox A lot of the time the problem was materials more than design. The concrete weathered very badly over time.

[@Hanternos]

It's a shame this building came down but I suppose it was inevitable. My fondest memory of it would be going to the Monster Mania indoor play area for a birthday party when I was about 7 years old.

[@mikekaraoke]

Great memory, what age were yyr first memories mine started at 3!

[@SimonSW19]

I moved from Pompey 6 years ago and going back now the city centre is awful, they need a new shopping centre badly, they ruined cascades by removing the centre piece food court and the shops are now awful and cheap. Back in the 90's it was full of decent shops. Pretty sad really, the council have never been any good.

[@reds005]

Spot on! I remember when cascades was buzzing. How did they mess that up FFS

[@bananabuzz4342]

Ahha come down now there’s barely any shops inside, place smells like sewerage and it’s just honestly not great give it another ten years and it’s going to be deserted 😅

[@jrr2248]

My goodness, this place was the armpit of the City for so long, it looks so much cleaner without it. It's a shame it was never properly maintained though and given a chance to prosper. That said I was pleased to see it go in the state it was in.

[@MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist]

Portsmouth uni is less enticing than the Unicorn. What it clearly lacked was proper maintenance so inevitably it sunk into a horrid decline.

[@dieselgav]

Criminal that the Tricorn Centre was pulled down. It should have been listed, restored, and reimagined for the 21st century. It was a fascinating architectural fantasy, mixing up all the things we loved about city centres (shops, market stalls, bars, cafes, parking, flats, hotel) into a massive brutalist complex that looked totally different whichever angle you looked at it. It was sculptural and was a fine example of utopian 1960s megastructure ideals - see also Cumbernauld town centre.

[@ShotOfBlackTooth]

From a Geordie who's never been to Portsmouth, I know how you feel. They took our Trinity Square which looked quite similar in some places, though I've learned since watching this that it seems Luder copied Gordon's style when I originally thought Luder was the sole architect for both.

[@MartinHannett_]

Whole video is infuriating. History repeating itself. In the 60's all Victorian buildings had to go, in the 80s and 90s all Art Deco buildings had to go. And now? You would not question demolishing buildings from either period. The same here. Disgusting really. I feel unbelievably sorry for Owen Luder.

[@Fireglo]

Protesting on the roof of a building currently being demolished is sooooo smart XD

[@Nogli]

Oddly enough, the bridge bit behind the reporter is still there, complete with graffiti saying "COME IN AND JOIN THE PARTY".

[@straponsandstuff93r99]

Still there 10 years on. It backs on to Argos if I'm not mistaken

[@Nogli]

@@straponsandstuff93r99 It is. I think it's just used as an access to the roof. There's also the distinct lack of a party as everything in the Cascades and Commercial Road precinct is quickly closing. So much for the council's grand plans for a whole new shopping centre where there is still a flat car park. How long until it's used for another block of student accommodation?

[@straponsandstuff93r99]

@@Nogli It has suffered severely from lack of investment for years. I remember the cascades being renovated and having all of its charm taken away in the process. Besides several concrete "sculptures"? and a large TV screen that hasn't worked since the day that it was installed, it has had 0 investment at all. Sad really, as it was bustling in the early 90's as I remember it.

[@Nogli]

@@straponsandstuff93r99 Its fall began when the food court closed. It felt less like a grand shopping centre, and more like a glorified corridor. My parents would leave me in the GAME store so they didn't have to drag me around M&S (which of course closed recently too).

[@straponsandstuff93r99]

@@Nogli I remember being dragged around Mothercare as a child. The glass elevators were such a fun experience at that age. I was so disappointed when I returned years after moving away to find that the food court had been filled in. The best part of the entire complex, gone. What a waste.

[@tara3140]

are they EVER gonna do anything with the area???

[@alanpang2660]

No, they're just making more money with the car park - they don't care about the locals

[@BigM1703]

I used to have to park in it regularly in the 90s. It was alright arriving in the daylight when there were lots of people about but bloody frightening going to get the car in the evening when it was quiet and dark. Always felt that someone was going to do me in and no-one would be any the wiser till the next morning. And it was ugly and impractical. It'll be interesting see when (if ever) anything is ever put in its place.

[@MintiesPoopin]

I hope they build something in their regeneration plan from 2019-2036. If it’s still a car park by then, I’ll be so disappointed.

[@robertbrown3413]

We have now a cark park which is more useful than the Tricorn. None of the grand plans of the politicians came true! As a resident I don't wish the Tricorn was still there. Basin's nightclub has a reputation still lingering as the roughest in Portsmouth, and that's saying something.

[@williamdrabble8781]

What a load of crap the Councillor talks at the end. Its heartbreaking to think this building has gone. There will never be anything as interesting as this in Portsmouth again

[@pix046]

It was a fascinatingly awful example of Brutalist architecture.

[@sameagain5]

13 years later it's still a freaking Car Park. Banter Portsmouth. The City Center is dying, most of the "high street brand" are thinking of closing.

[@manmaje3596]

20 years later its still a carpark!

[@sameagain5]

And your not wrong😂​@@manmaje3596

[@ffrancrogowski2192]

The lady at the desk on introduction of this film, is absolutely gorgeous! Good film in general, though!

[@apwab]

Thank you for replacing a piece of 60's architecture with the epithet most entertaining car park, a car park full of leisure and retail. What a car park. Other southern cities have nothing on it. They must be jealous.

[@yvonnelygo681]

No new shopping developement. What you have now is new drivers driving past and suggesting " They Should build a Multistory Car Park. ". This area is slowly being run down.

[@Nogli]

And Monster Mania was awesome. I had a couple of birthday parties there. It was finding an old tape of one of them that made me look up the Tricorn.

[@tonywise198]

This is being written in May 2024 and the area is still just a tarmac carpark. So much for development.

[@sarah_j_t]

I miss the tricorn

[@wickedmental]

Live in Portsmouth used that carpark a couple of times felt dodgey as hell leaving the car and walking through that.. always looking over shoulder lol. But it's a shame its just a flat carpark now... they should of made a multi story like the one at the back of portsmouth & southsea police station instead

[@26col]

There's still a bit of the Tricorn left undemolished...if you look hard enough.

[@kingspunkbubble]

Still a car park as of 2024. I guess even back then in the noughties the writing was on the wall for the future of traditional shops. A wise decision to leave it flat!

[@MintiesPoopin]

All these people promising new shops within a couple years of demolition makes me so mad. They sound so empty looking back

[@DasTubemeister]

I frequented The Himalaya during the 80s. The finest Indian Restaurant west of Bombay.

[@tishnoo]

remember monster mania?

[@PompeyChris71]

I used to work here, shop here and drink here. sorry to see it go.

[@gthbtn]

Still a car park in 2021... I'm guessing it's delayed because of Covid?! 🤔

[@L200RTB]

I remember parking up the top of that with my brother years ago and it was all iced up and we pushed sum cars side ways dont know what they thought when they got back to there cars and they was about 2" away from each other

[@MrDarrenspeed]

i like it, shame it was pulled down.

[@Weyru]

Where's the shops and streets and the other stuff he spoke about.

[@yvonnelygo681]

Great Shopping, Night club, Supermarket, Car Park.

[@alanpang2660]

New development?! What a massive carpark to rip people off?

[@carls7860]

So pulling down the Tricorn has made Portsmouth a thriving hub?! Listen to these crappy council folks enthusiastically trying to paper over the cracks of the failings of local government... concrete when it is looked after can be beautiful... look at the Barbican, the National Theatre and the Hayward ... divisive always but still wonderful... a failure of planning destroyed the Tricorn as with Thamesmead, things that were planned for the area didn't come to pass so somehow the whole thing fell apart... such a shame ...

[@Kris393]

@madbeatz Yeah I know, gonna say the same thing.

[@SimonAuld]

Still just a flat car park all the years later! Good or ugly it was a land mark of portsmonth history

[@lloydr64able]

Have a city centre to be proud off 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rhyselston8693]

A part is still there one of the walkways to Argos now IT WAS UGLY

[@PompeyMatt17]

even the flat tarmac car park is better than the Tricorn..

[@nigelsmith934]

More room for the only thing they care about student flats no market no community the council got it right I don't think

[@hidebarnes8188]

It's just a carpark now they didn't have the money I think to rebuild anything else

[@lordflashheart7427]

20 years later still npc milking people £7.50 for 2 hours parking what have they been smoking

[@canadaonly2]

yes yes yes yes yes!!! Monster Mania rocked

[@Furrowbrow]

A dangerous toilet at that.

[@PompeyChris71]

Rebuild the Tricorn............................Yayyyyyyy............

[@bscottb8]

"A mildewed lump of elephant droppings." -- Prince Charles

[@paulburns1333]

Talking about his new bird.

[@Lambhead8419]

😂 new retail and leisure!? Nope just became a carpark

[@simongleaden2864]

A truly horrible building. Good riddance. Brutalism is an abomination, contrary to any human aesthetic appeal.

[@frankeytwoshoes8187]

AH-- the Golden Bell --- !

[@m4rs12]

LOL typical journalists... They didn't get the boom they hoped for, so they create it themselves!

[@ryanevans00]

New devolpment!? bullshit its a fucking car park

[@reasonstobefearfullop-eaam3699]

Ryan Evans BASINS NIGHT CLUB AT TOP BEST PUNK GIGS IN THE SOUTH COAST 1985-93

[@Pianoguy32]

2024 and still a car park.

[@Alex-bq3tj]

The temporary ugly overpriced car park is still there 🙄

[@juliandagostino5026]

Cripes

[@DmanEyes]

What on earth are you talking about - the thing was a dismal failure... I think many of you could never have seen it! Disgusting dehumanising pile of crap with shabby so called markets... impractical parking... falling apart for decades... 'Apartments' - don't make me laugh - who would you hate so much to condemn them to live in that?! If you love it so much build one in your town and see how you get on! I'd have loved to swing a demolition ball at it.

[@lestatyoung5359]

Its 2019 and the tricorn center end up a car park

[@funkstrummer2151]

Neo Brutalist Dreams

[@Fluteboy]

3:43 - You can always rely on a bunch of hairy vegans coming along and interrupting things. Just sad.

[@DTailorUK]

Makes for some good TV, at least! Well done, them!

[@ernestdunn9527]

End of 2023, still no development!

[@reds005]

Still a fucking car park

[@meanmrmustard9163]

they said thatt it was gonna bee summink new butt all i see now is a fat carpark, grate...............

[@DODO-vy6sf]

Central Portsmouth is a council estate, a ghetto. Move the council scum away from Portsmouth and all your architecture suddenly looks good!

[@38735736576574687466]

hell yes haha had a birthday party there and i ordered chicken nuggets but they gave me a burger instead