Comment Saving the best of Brutalism
WHEN we see something new, be it a work of modern art or a building, we tend to make a snap decision.
We react to its unfamiliarity, sometimes negatively, without taking the time to understand what we are looking at.
Alongside Brutiful Birmingham’s passion for late 20th century buildings, we have tried to share our understanding through these columns.
This has involved a steep learning curve, but we have found the following criteria invaluable when it comes to campaigning for the preservation of a building.
It is a question, not of personal taste, but of analysing the building’s objective quality.
The Rotunda, for example, demonstrates a number of characteristics we think are important.
It has a strong individual identity and it features as one of a series of buildings stretching along Smallbrook Queensway as far as The Sentinels.
This grouping together creates an iconic streetscape in Birmingham’s city centre, epitomising the period. The Rotunda stands proud on high ground, unique in the simplicity of its distinctive cylindrical shape and horizontal banding, with a contrasting concave podium.
The Rotunda and many of the buildings which make up the streetscape to which it provides the peak were designed by James Roberts.
His vision for Smallbrook Queensway was for a people-friendly sweep of lower height buildings between the two high points, a city curtain wall with barbicans.
The Duddeston Four in Nechells Green, Birmingham’s first residential tower blocks, 12 storeys each and built in the mid-1950s, were high on our list of favourite post-war buildings.
Their striking X-shaped design, technical innovation, landscaping and details reminiscent of the great liners of the 1930s, are all features which made them architecturally and historically important.
Originally faced in durable brick, it is shocking to see that they have recently been re-faced in various shades of grey panelling with infilled balconies and new windows, looking more like an out of town warehouse rather than the heritage treasure they once were.
Like any major city, Birmingham should want to showcase the work of internationally celebrated architects.
Take Corporation Square with its nod to Le Corbusier, its façade of Portland stone and vertical slit windows, recessed ground floor and pedestrian-friendly canopies. Not only is the building itself worth preserving, it is also Birmingham’s only building designed by the internationally renowned architect, Sir Frederick Gibberd, who did his training in the city and is famous for his design of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.
The work of other famous architects is to be found in Birmingham’s suburbs. Churches designed by Richard Gilbert Scott of the famous architectural dynasty, Our Lady Help of Christians in Kitts Green and St Thomas More in Sheldon, are works of art in themselves. Both churches make spectacular use of the possibilities of concrete as a building medium in terms of shapes and spaces, technical innovation at its very best.
As spectacular examples of
Brutalist style, their original design remains intact.
They also reward the visitor with some stunning Modernist stained glass by John Chrestien.
Together with a strong identity, effective placing within their surroundings, technical innovation and a design by a famous architect, buildings that are good examples of a particular style, era or fashion would come high on our list for preservation.
As another example of the best in Brutalism, we can enjoy the forthright presence of New Street Station Signal Box with its bold triangular concrete cladding and the recessed windows which protect the signalling controls inside from sunlight.
And beyond all this, these buildings have an indefinable quality that is difficult to pin down, an aesthetic which effectively combines substance and space, stimulates interest, and offers an intriguing and often intimate experience which appeals to both mind and heart.
How do we protect these heritage buildings? Look at what has happened to the Duddeston Four.
Three of these towers are on Birmingham’s List of Local Heritage Assets, designating them an important part of Birmingham’s history.
Birmingham’s local listing website claims: “Any works carried out should preserve or enhance the building and any features of architectural or historic interest retained and appropriate materials used.”
Local listing did not protect the Duddeston Four. Nor, it seems, will it protect the Ringway Centre in Smallbrook Queensway, which is threatened with development which will change it and the streetscape beyond all recognition.
Being on the local list should provide the same kind of protection to buildings of local heritage significance that statutory listing provides at a national level.
So next time you find yourself face to face with a 1960s building, take a closer a look and think about the reasons why it might be worthy of preservation.
These buildings reward the interested observer with the honesty of their construction and their technical innovation.
They have stood the test of time and have been proved to be adaptable to new uses. Most importantly of all, they are part of our heritage.
With thanks to Alan Clawley (1944-2018) for providing the background to this piece.
Join us for the virtual walks we are planning for Birmingham’s Heritage Week, September 10 – 20, to include explorations of Digbeth (September 19), Birmingham’s Public Art (September 12), the West Midlands Works of William Mitchell (September 13) and more of John Madin’s Domestic Architecture (September 17). Details on Eventbrite accessed via the Birmingham Heritage Week website.
Brutiful Birmingham is a campaign group established to raise awareness of and fight for the retention of the best of late C20 buildings in Birmingham. We welcome your views: www.facebook. com/Brutiful-Birmingham, follow us on twitter: twitter.com/brutifulbrum, or email us at: brutiful2015@gmail. com.
Mary Keating represents Brutiful
Birmingham