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The Failure of the Preservation of Brutalism in Birmingham, England

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The Failure of the Preservation of Brutalism in Birmingham, England The Failure of the Preservation of Brutalism in Birmingham, England Kelsey Dootson B.A. in History Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, 2016 Thesis Committee: Sheila Crane, chair Richard Guy Wilson Andrew Johnston A Thesis Presented to Faculty of the Department of Architectural History of the School of Architecture Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Architectural History School of Architecture UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Charlottesville, Virginia May 2018 2 Table of Contents List of Illustrations ..................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... 4 Introductions ............................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Destruction and Reconstruction ................................................................................ 10 Chapter 2: Brutalism in Birmingham ......................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3: Preservation in the City ............................................................................................ 37 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 47 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 49 Illustrations ............................................................................................................................... 51 3 List of Illustrations Figure 1. Location of case studies 2. Map of bombed locations, with major area highlighted 3. Map of England and West Midlands 4. Photo of the Bull Ring area in 1937 5. Road map of Birmingham 6. Author’s interpretation of Inner Ring Road 7. Possible 1943 map of the Inner Ring Road, from the Birmingham City Council 8. Bull Ring and Inner Ring Road under construction 9. Exterior of Bull Ring Shopping Centre, with open air markets 10. Bird’s eye view of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre 11. Section of Bull Ring Shopping Centre 12. Another section of Bull Ring Shopping Centre. 13. Exterior of Ringway Centre 14. Ringway Centre, facing down Smallbrook towards the Bull Ring Shopping Centre 15. Ringway Centre, face on 16. Close up of bridge, linking Ringway Centre 17. Etching of Birmingham Central Library 18. Photo of the libraries 19. City plan with location of library 20. Site plan 21. Plan of levels 0-2 of both libraries 22. Plan of levels 1 and 2 of both libraries 23. Plan of levels 3-5 24. Plan of levels 6 and 7; section 25. Interior of reference library 26. Interior of balconies in one of the rooms 27. Exterior of Library 28. Exterior under eaves of ziggurat 29. Birmingham Repertory Theatre 30. Corporation Square 31. New Library of Birmingham 32. Former site of Birmingham Central Library with Town Hall on the right 33. Former site, angled toward monument 34. Central Library during demolition 35. 123 Hagley Rd, JMDG offices 36. New Smallbrook Queensway proposal 37. Aerial photo of new Bullring shopping development 38. “The Blob”, Selfridges frontage 39. Selfridges lit up at night, with bridge connected to car park. 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank some people for their invaluable support during my schooling and writing of this thesis. First, I would like to thank my committee members: Professors Sheila Crane, Richard Guy Wilson, and Andrew Johnston. My committee members have been very supportive of my endeavor to research an architectural style that is often controversial. They have also been very supportive in my ever-changing ideas during the writing process. I am also very thankful for the Architectural History department and the University of Virginia in general for the (financial) support of my project. I do not think it would have been achievable if I did not receive the travel grant. To be able to experience the ever-changing Birmingham on the ground provided a very different experience than that of Birmingham forty years ago and it strengthened my understanding and appreciation of historic preservation/conservation. I am also thankful for my fellow students. Thank you for reading over my drafts and providing me with instrumental questions. I was able to present a lightening talk version of my thesis at the 71st International Conference for the Society of Architectural Historians. This was instrumental in helping me develop my ideas and make sure I had a coherent thesis. I am thankful for the Architectural History Department and the Thomas Jefferson Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians for helping fund my way. Finally, thank you to my family and friends, in particular my mother, Kimberly, and my fiancé, Austin. Both of you have listened to my droning about architecture and general frustrations. I think at this point you both could write a very nice summary of my thesis. Everyone in my life has given me the motivation to push on with my studies when I felt exhausted. 5 Introduction “It may be kind of homely, but it sure is sweet. Industrial Revolution put it on its feet, but it’s a long, long way. Boy, I’ve got the Birmingham Blues.”1 Jeff Lyne, leader singer of the Electric Light Orchestra paints the stereotypical picture of Birmingham in a couple of lines. Nikolaus Pevsner does not begin his section on Birmingham in his series The Buildings of England: Warwickshire in a wholly positive light, either. “There have been no dramatic events in the history of Birmingham . .”2 This is not an attack on Birmingham’s supposed lack of history, but merely a comment. Birmingham’s seeming lack of storied past is a constant reference. It is referred to as simply an industrial, hard-working, market town. It was seen as a place to work, not to live. De Toqueville described the city in 1835 as having: . .no analogy with other English provincial towns; the whole place is made up of streets like the rue du Faubourg St Antoine [in Paris]. It is an immense workshop, a huge forge, a vast shop. One only sees busy people and faces brown with smoke. One hears nothing but the sound of hammers and the whistle of steam escaping form boilers.3 These varied observations all offer a similar perspective onto Birmingham—painting it as an industrious, middling sort of town. This preconception still holds true. In travelling to Birmingham, I was stopped at immigration in Ireland. The agent asked my purpose for traveling; I stated I was visiting Birmingham to study its postwar architecture. My statement was met with a derisive chuckle from the agent: “It’s a good place for that . .” His reaction underlines a major reason for Birmingham is the focus of this thesis—it is frequently pushed to the side in favor of other cities. Although this is not ideal for a city that seeks to be a center of culture, it seems fitting, given its history. Birmingham is located in the middle of England, with other cities a couple hours away. Despite its reputation as a gloomy and dreary city, Birmingham is bright and 1 “Birmingham Blues”, Electric Light Orchestra 2 Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Warwickshire. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd. 1966. 98. 3 Ibid. 6 vibrant. Because of these reasons, I was often asked “Why Birmingham?” A lack of scholarship on Birmingham, the dismissal of the city, and my fascination of Brutalism led to the research on this topic. Of course, what worked in one city did not work for others. Each city merits its own discussion of its postwar reconstruction efforts, and this is Birmingham’s account. Birmingham does not often appear to be on people’s minds. It is not a city people choose to visit, and there seems to be little understanding about the city. Birmingham is often referred to as the “Second City,” but according to recent polls, more people believe Manchester to be the “Second City.”4 The questions posed seem to be vague, so people may interpret the question to mean, “Which city is more prominent in British media?” It currently ranks second behind London in population and GDP. Birmingham’s desire to be named the Second City occurred during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as the city further cemented its status as an important research, technical, and retail center. The generational divide evident in the result of the poll mentioned above highlights the growth Birmingham experienced during the twentieth century. Birmingham does not appear in sources about Brutalism, in comparison to other major cities. It does however receive a brief mention, in reference to the Birmingham Central Library, the Inner Ring Road, and/or the Bull Ring. However, Birmingham was a major center of reconstruction, following the destruction of World War II. London is often at the heart of Brutalist preservation, or even discussions about postwar architecture. Other cities fall to the wayside as a result of a lack of research, and buildings are left vulnerable thanks in part to a lack 4 Despite Birmingham following behind London in population, GDP, etc., there is a generational divide on this. Younger people view Manchester as the Second City, but older people see Birmingham as the Second City. This divide is also highly regional. http://www.bmgresearch.co.uk/birmingham-mailbmg-poll-battle-second-city/; https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/05/21/manchester-uks-second-capital/;
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