architecture of birmingham

Architecture of Birmingham

Architecture of Birmingham

There is a large variety of different architecture in and around Birmingham. Birmingham has been an established city for some time now, however many of the buildings are a product of the 18th, 19th and 20th century with minimal building surviving from early history.

MedievalArchitecture

The only complete surviving building inBirminghamis the Old Crown pub located in Digbeth. It wasbuilt in the 15th century.Originallybuilt as the hall of the Guide of St John, Deritend. It is a grade II listed building and still retains its black and white timber frame.

Georgian and Regency architecture

Due to the IndustrialRevolution, Birmingham began to expand during the 18th century.Thegrowingpopulation led to more people attending church, and with that the St. Phillipscathedralwas established. This was designed by Thomas Archer in 1715.

Victorian architecture

The financial springs brought from the industrial revolution providedVictorianBirminghamthe funds itneeded to develop the cities buildings. The use of neoclassical architecture was carried into this time period. The most well knownVictorianbuildingin Birmingham is the Birmingham Town Hall. Designed by Joseph Hansom and Edward Welch in 1834. Charles Edge wascommissionedto repair the weakness to thedesign of the building in 1835 and was also commissioned for the extension of the building in 1837 and then again in 1850.

TheGothicRevival

Gothic architecture had been used for picturesque decor in England throughout the 17th & 18thcenturies. This continued through the 19th century with a Birmingham example being MetchleyAbby in Harbourne.

One of the most influential figures of the Gothic Revival in both Birmingham and worldwide was Augustus Pugin. Pugin came to Birmingham to design the Gothic detailing for Charles Barrys rebuilding of King Edwards School in 1833. This was the first building in Birmingham to demonstrate the scholar use of Gothic.

High Victorian Architecture

The beginning of High Victorian architecture in Birmingham took place in 1855 with the completion of 12 Ampton Road, Edgbaston designed by John Henry Chamberlain.The use of red brick and terracotta started during this period. Birmingham lacked in natural stone and terracotta was a good substitute. A good example of this being used is the red brick and terracotta Victorian Law courts on corporation street which was designed by Sir Aston Webb and Ingress Bell.

Edwardian and Inter-war

The use of red brickenlightenedthe path to color glazedterracotta. An example is the Trocadero in Temple Street which was created in 1902 and also thePiccadillyarcade, completed in1909 as a cinema on New Street.

The use of red brickenlightenedthe path to color glazedterracotta. An example is the Trocadero in Temple Street which was created in 1902 and also thePiccadillyarcade, completed in1909 as a cinema on New Street.

Post-World War II Architecture

Due to the industrial importance in Birmingham led to the World War 2 bombings causing a lot of destruction to the buildings. The Public Works Department of Birmingham City Council established a city engineer to help reconstruct housing and publicfacilities. Thus meaning Sir HerbertMazzini(the city engineer and surveyor) became very influential.

Demand for offices had soared withbusinesseswanting large office blocks compared to previous smalloffice buildings.High riseoffice blocks were created in basic shapes like cuboids. The Big Top was created in the late 1950s and becameBirminghamsbiggest office building andthe first shopping centre.

John Madin and Brutalism

John Madin and his architecture made an impact on the city from the 1960s through to the late 1970s. Birmingham Central Library is one of his best known buildings. Another being the inverted concrete ziggurat in the brutalist style. Prince Charles described the library as a place for burning books, rather than keeping them.

Contemporary and Modern Architecture

Regeneration through Broad Street and Brindley Place began in early 1990s bringing a whole new period of construction. It included offices and other mixed use buildings designed by separate architects including the National Sea Life Centre.

A building from Birmingham that is largelyrecognizedis the bubbly Bullring from the Selfridges store. This building was on of the first to use the blobitecture style. A lot of the modern architecture around the United Kingdom is found in Birmingham.

The series of architecture shows how the types of buildings have changed immensely over time and the different styles and materials that have been introduced and used.

By Glocal Residential - thank you for reading! And we would love to know which your favorite part of architecture is in Birmingham. Is it the new library, the custard factory, the grand central? Let us know!

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