Brutal replaced with the bland

DEAR Editor, There has been a lot of discussion in the Post regarding the demolition of large numbers of Brutalist buildings.

This does seem to be a current policy in the council and there is a question over whether any consideration is made to keeping and upgrading some of the structures.

I think most people would agree that grey concrete is not the most attractive environment and not many will miss the removal of unattractive, gloomy square blocks and the subways and ring roads that surrounded them.

However, I am not sure how great the modern replacements will turn out to be. A lot of the “artists impressions” that appear in your pages all have a similar, bland appearance and we seem to be replacing blocks of concrete with blocks of mainly glass – whether they are offices or apartments.

In general, the planning is heading in the right direction and a lot of work has been done to improve the tired old concrete city plus some good restoration work in the Colmore district, but I hope we don’t exchange Brutalist for bland.

Obviously there are risks in going for the more unusual designs (eg. The Cube had to overcome many practical problems, Grand Central has had to revamp the overshiny cladding and the new library looks very striking but has struggled to operate successfully).

The best structures and environments are the ones that manage to combine original design with people friendly, fit-for-purpose practicalities. Maybe commercial pressures force us to over-compromise?

Mike Pogorzelski, Bearwood, Smethwick