The firm has signed a pre-construction services agreement for a programme of urgent repairs and maintenance work at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery.

This will include installing a new multiple pyramid-profiled glazed roofing system to the Hayward and Purcell buildings and some M&E refit for back of house facilities.

The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room auditoria will be refurbished to preserve the character of the venues including renovating the walls, floors and ceilings and retaining and restoring the existing seats.

New areas will be created with new glazing on the south western corner of the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer and of the rear undercroft area adjacent to the existing Purcell Room artists’ entrance.

The original £120m Festival Wing redevelopment plan was put on hold after the London Mayor intervened to save a skateboard area which would have been redeveloped as part of the ambitious plan.

Redeveloping this area with shops and restaurant would have helped to pay for a spectacular glass cube above the Southbank Centre.

More ambitious plans with landmark glass cube put on hold

A BAM spokesman  said: “We have a pre-construction services contract in connection with the refurbishment of three existing Southbank Centre buildings – the Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room.

“The services include providing advice on method, programme, buildability, value engineering, cost reduction and risk.”

Initial work starts this Autumn and is due to complete in May 2017.

A spokesman for the Southbank Centre said it remained committed to a wider scheme for the Festival Wing, creating new arts and cultural spaces to provide more free arts and education opportunities and was working to resolve its funding.

Future plans for this part of the site would include the retention of the undercroft for skateboarding, BMX and street writing, following the recent agreement with Long Live Southbank , the skateboarder’s campaign group, which recognised the undercroft as the long-term home of British skateboarding and other
urban arts activities.