COVENTRY ROUND CAFÉ
‘Coventry during the ’60s was one of the richest cities in Europe because it was home of the motor industry. Coventry City was the irst council to have its own architect.’ Donald Gibson is remembered for rebuilding the heavily bombed West Midlands city after the war, but he actually started the project as a congestioneasing measure in 1938.
And Coventry had the irst traffic-free shopping centre in Europe. ‘Very much in the Modern International Style. There were some fabulous elements to Coventry. I remember as a kid walking up the steps of the Cathedral and being struck by its sense of scale. It’s still a pretty fascinating building today.’ McGovern’s mother used to work in the city’s modernist Round Café as a waitress. ‘I remember sitting looking through those pieces of glass thinking I was on a spaceship. Because it was very new, Coventry gave me a sense of looking to the future, and not looking back.’