BRUM LIBRARY "NEGLECT" SLAMMED BY ITS ARCHITECT

27-02-2007

The architect of Birmingham's Central Library last night launched a passionate defence of his controversial building and condemned its “disgraceful” neglect - but a developer who wants it demolished set out a rival vision which would see traffic re-routed away from Paradise Circus, and a new square created around the Town Hall.

Both men were talking at a meeting organised by the Friends Of The Central Library at the Birmingham and Midlands Institute hosted by Stirrer editor Adrian Goldberg.

Birmingham Council is planning a major redevelopment of the “civic quarter” between the Council House and Centenary Square - and, as they see it, the library is in the way.

City leader Mike Whitby has already stated his preference for a replacement building next to the recently revamped Baskerville House, and a feasibility study is due to be completed in the next few months.

But the architect John Madin, making a rare appearance in the city,believes there is plenty of life in the old place yet. He pointed out that his original design had never been completed because of financial difficulties in the mid-70's, and that the library had since been surrounded by “unsympathetic” neighbours - ranging from a McDonald's restaurant to the black and red box that houses the Copthorne Hotel.

"The centre of the largest non-national library in Europe has been cluttered with these 'buildings'" Madin argued.

" It was never maintained. It's in a terrible state. It's quite disgraceful that someone should treat a civic building this way".

He added: “This library has never been cleaned or maintained in 30 years. It is a very good excuse for demolishing it if it's in a bad condition.”

He also warned that selling off the land on which it stands would deny future generations of Brummies the ownership of their heritage, and insisted that with an extension to look after the archives the library would be good by many years yet. This he insisted wasa far more economical proposition than building a replacement from scratch.

He was backed by architectural historian Andy Foster,author of the Pevsner Architectural Guide To Birmingham, who warned that the library's brutalist architecture which was once reviled, is now becoming fashionable again.

Foster gave the example of Trellick Tower in London -once threatened with demolition, but which has now become a trendy address.

"Brutalism is in, Birmingham is out" he said.

"It's time Birmingham raised its game and preserving this library which is a masterpiece is one way of doing it," commented Foster.

Birmingham's head of libraries Brian Gambles disagreed. He praised the library's contribution over the years (“it is a wonderful place and does fantatstic things for this city”) but argued that the time had come to move on to create a facility appropriate for the 21st century. This he argued, could only be achieved in a new, purpose-built facility.

The theme was taken up by Gary Taylor of the developers Argent, who created Birmingham's award-winning Brindley Place, and who is currently “fixing” Paradise Forum.

Taylor slammed the civic quarter saying: “We don't have another six acres in another city in the country which has as many architectural mistakes.”

He wants to recreate the area's traditional street patterns, ban traffic from Paradise Circus, and return the Town Hall clock - “Big Brum” - to its place as a focal point for people in the city in the heart of a newly created square.

He pointed out that 12 million people walk through Paradise Forum every year, but the clock is largely invisible to them. Redevelop the library and its surroundings and that will change he insisted, restoring the civic heart to the city.

Taylor commented: “If the 1960s was about revolutionary thinking, our approach is about eveolutionary thinking.”

(See John Madin and Gary Taylor talking about the future of Birmingham Central Library on Stirrer TV.) Now available click here