We’re better off without old Brutalist architecture
BIRMINGHAM councillor Barry Henley, a member of the council’s planning committee, recently claimed Birmingham had benefited from the demolition of 1960s and 70s buildings like the Central Library, the old Bull Ring shopping centre and the recently demolished NatWest tower, in Colmore Row.
Cllr Henley (Lab, Brandwood) said: “We are better off now that the NatWest building in Colmore Row has been demolished, we’re better off now the Central Library has gone. What we can regret is that the Central Library before that – the Victorian one – was not preserved. We’re actually correcting a mistake by getting rid of that one.
“What we have to face up to is that some of these buildings have reached the end of their design life, their useful life.
“For example, on Hagley Road we took a Madin building, reclad it and it’s now being let and is in use again.
“You can’t simply say keep a John Madin building because it’s a Madin building. If nobody will rent it, nobody will occupy it. There’s no point it being derelict.
“So we have a situation where the appropriate thing is to demolish it or the appropriate thing is to re-clad and refurbish it.”
Many imposing Brutalist buildings sprung up in towns and cities across Britain from the 1950s onwards and many examples are now listed in other parts of the country.
Notable John Madin buildings that have been bulldozed include the old Central Library (despite a call to list it), the Post & Mail Tower in Colmore Circus, and BBC Pebble Mill studios in Edgbaston. A number of his offices near Five Ways in Edgbaston are also under threat of demolition, including Chamber of Commerce House in Harborne Road. Only St James’ House, in Edgbaston’s Frederick Road, is grade II-listed.