London's Southbank Centre is to transform its Festival Wing - including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery - and will share its proposals via a public exhibition, opening on March 7. Following the successful renovation of the Royal Festival Hall, the new project will involve refurbishing the 1960s Festival Wing buildings ‘to deliver a larger and more ambitious arts and cultural programme for all Southbank Centre’s visitors to enjoy’.

Leading the refurbishment are Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, appointed lead architect in October 2012, who are also investigating ways of using currently neglected space. The launch of the project has been made possible by a successful first-stage application for £20m in funding from Arts Council England in March 2012.

‘Our vision is to make the most of these extraordinary buildings and the spaces around them so that we can provide more art for more people of all ages and create world-class facilities for artists and visitors to enjoy, fit for the 21st century,’ said Southbank Centre artistic director Jude Kelly. ‘We will draw on the continued success of our year-round festival programme and the original spirit of the Festival of Britain to transform this part of the site.’

The draft designs and first images of the proposed new Festival Wing will be presented at a public exhibition, open from March 7, 2013 in the Royal Festival Hall. The exhibition will be open daily from 10am to 11pm and will be updated as the plans develop. The proposals will also be available online at southbankcentre.co.uk/festivalwing from March 7.