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Brutal

The Chamberlain Memorial, sitting amongst the demolition of the Birmingham Central Library.

 

Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham from 1974 until 2013. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was replaced with the Library of Birmingham. The existing building is currently being demolished after 41 years.

 

Designed by John Madin. Despite the original vision not being fully implemented the library has gained architectural praise as an icon of British Brutalism with its stark use of concrete, bold geometry, inverted ziggurat sculptural form and monumental scale. Its style was seen at the time as a symbol of social progressivism

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Central_Library

 

The Chamberlain Memorial was erected in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England, on 20 October 1880, to commemorate the public service of Joseph Chamberlain, a Birmingham businessman, councillor, mayor and Member of Parliament. He died in 1914.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamberlain_Memorial

 

In the early 1980s, each evening I used to travel down from where I worked, at Five Ways, to this building to perform backups to large multi-platter exchangeable disks and then shutdown the library computer system. Although very stark and brutal it was a very impressive building. Although I wouldn't want it in my back yard, I think it is a shame it's gone from a heritage perspective. Hopefully it will be replaced by something even more impressive.

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Uploaded on January 22, 2016
Taken on January 20, 2016