The current Birmingham Public Library by John Madin closed last month after a long campaign to save it: it was described as a masterful exercise in Brutalism, of subtle spatiality. The city awaits the opening of its replacement, the new Mecanoo-designed building, to be opened with great fanfare on 3 September.
However regrettable this loss might be, just forty years ago its predecessor library closed- a vast, vaulted and quintessentially Victorian space which embodied the values of literature and culture, of aspiration and high art. It opened in 1881 and its architects were J.H.Chamberlain and William Martin. Joe Holyoak has described how their Ruskinian architecture raised the city's spirit and 'spoke of culture and fine art, of craftsmanship.' The library's cathedral-like space was lined with vertiginous walls of books, framed by beautifully made work in wrought iron, wood, plaster and carved stone.
Occasionally visiting as a schoolboy, I remember the light coming from the clerestory windows, its atmosphere of quiet and calm, of learning. I suspect that its demolition in 1974 was a greater loss than the 2014 demolition of Madin's building will be.
However regrettable this loss might be, just forty years ago its predecessor library closed- a vast, vaulted and quintessentially Victorian space which embodied the values of literature and culture, of aspiration and high art. It opened in 1881 and its architects were J.H.Chamberlain and William Martin. Joe Holyoak has described how their Ruskinian architecture raised the city's spirit and 'spoke of culture and fine art, of craftsmanship.' The library's cathedral-like space was lined with vertiginous walls of books, framed by beautifully made work in wrought iron, wood, plaster and carved stone.
Occasionally visiting as a schoolboy, I remember the light coming from the clerestory windows, its atmosphere of quiet and calm, of learning. I suspect that its demolition in 1974 was a greater loss than the 2014 demolition of Madin's building will be.
Birmingham Public Library Reference Library JH Chamberlain and W Martin 1881 (source unknown)
Birmingham Public Library Birmingham CC