The Student's Union for Sheffield Hallam University is vacating the former National Centre for Popular Music, leaving the very... distinctive building unoccupied. The Star asked residents what they would do with the space - fill it, renovate it, or knock it down?
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00:00Good afternoon Sheffield, it's Alastair from the Sheffield Star and I'm speaking to you from outside of the National Centre for Popular Music.
00:06Many people know this building behind me as the Student Union for the Sheffield Hallam University,
00:11and other people just know it as kind of ugly.
00:14This building behind me was opened in 1999 as a music vendor.
00:17You might not know this but it closed but 15 months later because it was a bit of a flop,
00:21which after it was taken over by the Students' Union in 2004.
00:24However, the Students' Union is due to vacate now and there are concerns that the building may be bulldozed.
00:29And even though charity campaigners are asking for it to be preserved as an interesting architectural example,
00:36the future of the building sort of hands in the balance and we're out here today to ask people what they would do with such a unique space in the meantime.
00:43It's halfway between one of those bowling curls you see in ice skate bowling, other people say it's a spaceship,
00:49but they are very unique, they are kind of ugly in a very sweet way,
00:54but we are here to speak to people what they would do with the space if they were given the option.
00:57Okay, I reckon there's just not enough green space around here, especially with all these new buildings going up here.
01:02And I'm in this building and a showroom, so some green space, get rid of that concrete monstrosity over there, adding steel here.
01:08So a bit of green space for people to relax in and create a bit more of a community environment.
01:13No reuse, knock it down, make it green, repurpose it completely.
01:17Yeah exactly, it's a small green space I think.
01:19And if you've got a bunch of cafes here, I think it would be a bit more of a vibrant place.
01:23How many years have you been looking at this building now?
01:25I've worked here since 2018.
01:27So yeah, I've seen a lot of building work going up around it.
01:31And it's a bit of a legacy from when I didn't even listen to it, I think.
01:341999, it closed 15 months later.
01:37National Centre for Popular Music, right?
01:39That's the last one.
01:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I was a student then.
01:41So yeah, I don't think it's the first building, right?
01:44I think just knock it down and a bit of green space.
01:46Yeah, I don't think you need any more generic office buildings for it, yeah.
01:51So yeah.
01:52Well I do have some memory of it when it was a music gazeera.
01:55And it wasn't a very sensible one because it didn't give enough social context to the music.
02:00The kids used to just run around and push buttons.
02:03Yeah.
02:04So it depends what would replace it because it's not a particularly attractive building at the moment.
02:08Yeah.
02:09So if there was something more attractive, more engaging, then yes, obviously.
02:12Would you be okay with it being bulldozed entirely?
02:14I would be very pleased to have seen one close if there was a attractive building replacing it.
02:18More open to the public.
02:19Or engaging, yes.