Turbine Hall History - Construction (tate website)

The transformation of Bankside Power Station into Tate Modern began 1995 with the removal of all the power station machinery ('de-planting') by the previous owners, Magnox Electric plc. This left the building as a brick shell supported by a steel skeleton. During 1996 and 1997 further demolition and enabling works took place which prepared the building for the construction programme to produce a world class art gallery from a disused industrial building. This work included the removal of the roofs of both the old Boiler House and the Turbine Hall, the demolition of a number of out buildings and sandblasting and repainting of the remaining steelwork.

In December 1996 the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron opened a UK office at Bankside Power Station staffed by a team of fourteen working full time on the project. During this period the detailed design was worked on under the supervision of Harry Gugger, one of four partners in the firm.

In order to build the new gallery the Construction Management method was employed. This process is now widely used for large complex building projects in preference to the traditional practice of employing a main contractor and sub-contractors. The building work is split into distinct packages, each of which is carried out by specialist Trade Contractors. The Construction Manager, in this case Schal, a division of Carillion plc, was responsible for the entire construction programme and co-ordination of the Trade Contractors who were in turn employed and paid by Tate.

Work on the first piece of construction, a vast concrete raft, forming a foundation on which the museum sits, commenced during October 1997. At this point, a Time Capsule containing plans, photographs and videos relating to the project along with drawings by local schoolchildren and a piece of Swiss Mountain crystal provided by the architects were buried in the foundations.

This was followed by the fabrication of the structural steel framework in the former boiler house, creating the seven floors and effectively forming a new building within the walls of the old. This was followed by the creation of the seven gallery floors. During this process the original boiler house trusses were removed, allowing the new floors to fully support the existing brick façade. In May 1998, the steelwork for the new two storey glass roof structure, known as 'the lightbeam' began. Once the glass of the lightbeam was in place and the roof to the Turbine Hall replaced in the autumn of 1998, the building was watertight, which allowed more detailed fit-out of the space to commence.

In early 1999, escalators and stairs were located in their final positions and work began on fitting out the auditorium. The galleries were fitted with environmental controls and the timber floors on all levels were installed. By August 1999, there was permanent lighting on in most areas of the building and the basic building works were completed.

By the end of 1999, Tate Modern staff had moved into their permanent offices on the eastern wing of the building and many areas of the building were complete. In January 2000, the site was officially handed over to the Tate Gallery from construction managers, Schal and the installation of the displays of the Tate Collection began.

Tate Modern opened to the public on 12 May 2000.