Ministry of Defence Main Building

Ministry of Defence Main Building
Ministry of Defence Main Building
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	Westminster; Westminster Millennium Pier
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 former 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 in 1964 becoming the current home of the Ministry of Defence.

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 contract under the private finance initiative.