How can a building not even thirty years old, applauded as a “prima donna” at the time of its construction, be so devalued today that it is mercilessly worthy of demolition?

This question is being asked by widespread public opinion, which regards with incredulity the statement of the University of Salford, in the north of England, to demolish the Centenary Building, historical home of the Departments of Spatial, Graphic and Industrial Design.

The building, designed by Hodder and Partners in 1996, was the first to be awarded the prestigious Stirling Prize promoted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The prize was introduced in 1996 with the aim of celebrating the designer who had given the greatest contribution to British architecture in the last year. In the case of the Centenary Building, the Jury rewarded on the one hand the pragmatism of a work built quickly and at low cost (thanks to the simple, high-performance concrete, glass and steel construction system) and on the other hand the environmental sensitivity (thanks to the underfloor heating system and natural rather than mechanised ventilation) and the quality of the flexible, bright spaces.

The building is characterised by a rigorous layout, articulated around an internal linear square, crossed at height by tunnels and connecting bridges, on which the teaching, administrative and service areas converge.

The University complains about the obsolescence of the building (starting with the installations and the technological thermal-acoustic insulation systems), which is partially unused and deemed unsuitable to meet current standards and requirements and intends to undertake its demolition as part of a general process of redevelopment of the area.

This is a rather unusual decision for a Western country that, unlike others especially in the Far East, where history is often transmitted through a sequence of demolitions and reconstructions, is all about regeneration of the built environment rather than consumption of new land, environmental sustainability (NZEB) and adaptive reuse to breathe new lymph into buildings that seem to have reached the end of their life cycle.

In October, The Twentieth Century Society, a charity dedicated to promoting the protection and enhancement of UK buildings constructed after 1914, made a formal application to the public institution Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England for a listed building restriction, in connection with a possible change of use, but apparently without success.

Beyond any judgments on the work's worth and useless romanticism, there remains the issue of the responsibility behind the demolition decision, which entails necessary cost-benefit analyses and environmental impact assessments related to the energy dispersion and carbon emissions resulting from the operation.