Ministry of Defence Main Building | |
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Former names | Whitehall Gardens Building |
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Government office |
Address | Whitehall City of Westminster SW1A 2HB |
Town or city | London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°30′14″N 0°07′30″W / 51.5040°N 0.1249°W |
Current tenants | Ministry of Defence (MOD) |
Completed | 1959 |
Renovated | 2000–2004 |
Renovation cost | £746 million |
Owner | HM Government |
Height | |
Architectural | Neoclassical |
Technical details | |
Material | Portland stone and copper roof |
Floor count | 13 (10 above ground and 3 below) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | E. Vincent Harris |
Developer | HM Government |
Other designers | Sir Charles Wheeler (Sculptor) David McFall (Sculptor) |
Main contractor | Trollope & Colls |
Renovating team | |
Architect(s) | HOK |
Renovating firm | Ministry of Defence and Modus Services |
Structural engineer | Alan Baxter |
Services engineer | WSP |
Main contractor | Skanska |
Other information | |
Public transit access | ![]() ![]() |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Ministry of Defence, containing Sixteenth Century undercroft and historic rooms numbers 13, 24, 25, 27 and 79 |
Designated | 14 January 1970 |
Reference no. | 1278223 |
The Ministry of Defence Main Building or MOD Main Building, also known as MOD Whitehall or originally as the Whitehall Gardens Building, is a grade I listed government office building located on Whitehall in London. The building was designed by E. Vincent Harris in 1915 and constructed between 1939 and 1959 on part of the site of the Palace of Whitehall, specifically Pelham House, Cromwell House, Montagu House, Pembroke House and part of Whitehall Gardens. It was initially occupied by the Air Ministry and the Board of Trade before becoming the current home of the Ministry of Defence in 1964.
By the 1990s the building was no longer considered fit for purpose and had become expensive to maintain. A major refurbishment was therefore undertaken between 2000 and 2004 through a private finance initiative contract.