The Royal Festival Hall, designed by Leslie Martin and Peter Moro, was the centrepiece of the 1951 Festival of Britain. The refurbishment by Allies and Morrison transformed the building by refocusing on the original design ideas whilst making significant improvements to modernise and embrace the needs of a world class contemporary music venue and its public foyers. In the auditorium, the acoustics, audience comfort and production flexibility have been transformed. The foyer spaces have been reorganised to recover their originally intended clarity of circulation and spatial organisation and to accommodate a wide variety of arts and commercial activities. Access to riverside views has been improved and the external terraces have again become vibrant public spaces, recapturing the spirit of 1951. A complex external works programme has transformed the setting of the building improving access to and along the river and to surrounding key destinations. The construction of new office building has allowed the relocation of Southbank Centre offices, freeing up the original building for its intended use.