the issue

109visual culture

ArchITeCTurE

The architecture in the city creates a dynamic visual appearance; most specifically how the classic and historic buildings conflict with the modern and contemporary architecture, creating a visual tension between the two. We look at various ‘tensions’ and how architecture can impact us and we ask what people think of the

revitalisation projects happening in Birmingham.

This magazine strives to find visual culture happening in Birming-ham. We also look at how the visual elements make up the city – whether this comes in the form of architecture, signs, typography, colour or whether social conditions effect the visual appearance of Birmingham. Why ‘109’’? Its the pantone colour of the famous Selfridges department stores, whose building gives a distinct

visual look to Birmingham

Also featuring are the buildings that inspired J.R.R Tolkien in Birmingham whilst he was writing The Lord of the Rings, some interesting facts about the Bullring and we look at concrete, as well

as our guide to what’s on in the city.

Welcome to 109The visual culture magazine for Birmingham

contents

what’s onIKONNedko Solakov- All in order, with exceptions.

21st September - 13th NovemberAutumn Almanac - Various exhibitions.

17th - 20th November

Exhibition opening night6-8pm 29th November

Birmingham museum and art gallery

Lost in lace29th October - 19th Febuary

The PublicMy Generation : The glory years of brit rockCarillon shadows by Jony Easterby

Bandwidth by Josh NimoyAll 21st October - 15th January

Midlands Art Center

Contemporary crafts fair19th November - 18th December

Small print: Big impression22nd October - 4th DecemberThe greatest movie ever sold

11-13 November

Eastside Projects

William Pope .L “Child”17th September - 5th November

Painting show 25th November - 18th Febuary

HighlightNedko Solakov All in order, with exceptions.Solakov’s exhibition features one piece of work from the last 30 years being selected from his vast body of work. Solakov’s work is very highly personal and this, combined with the vast time the exhibition covers creates a visual autobiography of his life. Solakov’s work is narrative in its nature and has a melancholic sense of humour that is preva-lent throughout.

ten-The architecture of Birmingham is constantly changing which creates a very dynamic visual to the city. The older buildings contrast greatly to the new and modern, sometimes this is subtle but other times it is very overt. This creates a tension between the elements as well as an interesting cityscape.

Through photography we explore how this visual tension appears in the city,

we wanted to be able to show how this creates a dynamic city and that the

contrast between the buildings helps to create the visual appearance of Bir-

mingham. The revitalisation of the city sees the creation of modern

architecture but also sees the restoration of older buildings. The Ikon

for example combines both these elements; a restored school house with

modern touches, most notably the staircase and lift surrounded by glass,

photo right. This makes the tension very obvious and easy to see whereas sometimes its not quite so noticeable.

In the photographs we try to show how this looks in various spaces and also

how it perhaps effects the atmosphere of the city, does it create a sense of

tension and that of a contrasted city or does it show Birmingham’s

determination to be a progressive and innovative city and its struggle

to achieve this? Many of the modern approaches have a feel that they are

progressive, with intelligent ways of looking at architecture and at design

for spaces. The new library is a prime example of this, once completed it will feature a vast archive of various media

from photography, print to literature and music. There is currently a ‘virtual’

library that is accessible to view the interior of the library and you can go to

virtual book readings, that determination shines through in their openness to new technology. This is

also shown in the architecture, the exterior facade echoes the technological

advances that helped create the industrial growth in Birmingham as

well stating the library’s willingness to adopt new technology.

Birmingham is a city that embraces change and this is visible in the

architecture. Some of the various revitalisation projects happening in

Birmingham are the new library, the REP theatre and a new building to

house BIAD, all to be completed in the next three to four years. It is also a city with a rich heritage which can be seen in the restoration projects of old build-

ings that have been undertaken over the years, most notably St Martin’s in

the Bullring. £1.9 million was spent in order to restore the church as part of the

project to build the Bullring. This is a very visual strong element that is an in-tegral part of the Bullring and is almost symbolic that Birmingham doesn’t hide its heritage but is prepared to welcome

what the future holds.

by James Dexter

sion.

sion.

SRM

NS

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JD

bullringstatistics

=15footballpitches

bullrin

g - 11

0,000

m2

1960’s bull ring 32,500 m2

selfridges23,000 m2

££486 million Bullring

£40 million Selfridges

Tota

l cost £530 million

32 entrances

15,460 tonnesstructural steel = 2 eiffel

13 mixers pour 216,000 tonnes of concrete

15,000 aluminum discs on the Selfridges building

£5 £10

£20£20

£20

£1 £1£1 50p 2p 1p

average spent per person

33%28%32%

Modes of transport to visit Bullring

There are many iconic buildings in the Birmingham landscape, but none have

the sense of distinction of the Selfridges building. Its

uncompromising appearance creates a clash with the surrounding

buildings, such as the modernist Rotunda building and the victorian gothic St Martin’s Church, creating a confusing jumble of architectural

styles that some find exciting and inspiring, whereas others find an

eyesore. The store was designed by Future systems and was influenced by

the French designer Paco Rabanne’s chainmail dresses. The

outer structure has 15,000 metallic disks, which catch the sun and shows Selfridges ‘commitment to all that is

new and innovative’.On its opening day it saw 276,600

people come through its doors and in 2004 it had a mind boggling 36.5

million visitors making it the busiest shopping centre in the UK. This is understandable as it is one

of only four places that house a Selfridge’s department store. It also

has the fourth largest Debenhams. Its innovative design has given it a time-

less look that fits Birmingham’s ever developing skyline and one that

will see it being as iconic and exciting in twenty years as it is now.

bullringabout the

commitment to all that is new and innovativeby Peter Coleman

commitment to all that is new and innovative

J.R.R.TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born

in Free State Province, South Africa, 1892. Later on, when he was 3, the

family moved to England. What would have been a short visit turned into a

permanent stay in the country because of his father’s sudden death.

Tolkien’s mother, Mabel took him and his younger brother, Hilary to her

parents in Birmingham. Soon after they moved to Sarehole. While living there

for 4 years he spent many hours playing around local settings such as Sarehole

Mill and Moseley Bog. Tolkien used these places as

inspiration for Hobbition and The Shire in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

Nearby attractions like the Clent, Lickey and Malvers Hills also inspired

many scenes in his books. Tolkien’s mother taught the two boys when they

were younger. Tolkien loved to draw landscapes and he was very interested in languages, by the age of 4 he could

read and write fluently. Some of his favourites were stories about Red

Indians, fantasy works by George Mac-Donald (known for his fairy tales and

fantasy novels) and the Fairy Books of Andrew Lang. He disliked a lot of

books as well, for example he thought that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

(by Lewis Carroll) was “amusing but disturbing”. Tolkien’s mother died

when he was 4, after that he and his brother lived in various places mainly

around Edgbaston. In 1908 they moved to 37 Duchess Road with Father Francis

Xavier Morgan, a priest of the Oratory, since this was their mother’s wish. During this time they lived very

close to Perrott’s Folly and the Edgbas-ton Waterworks which are said to have inspired the images of the Two Towers

in his books. Tolkien went to King Edward’s School in Birmingham, he

really enjoyed learning there and participated in all kinds of activities

organized by the School Club. Tolkien and three of his friends formed a semi-secret society called T.C.B.S. – Tea Club Barrovian Society. They had

meetings where they would secretly

drink tea in the library, although later on they moved to the

cafe over Barrow’s Stores in Corporation Street. They would

discuss language, literature, mythology as well as art, music and

current affairs. They became very close friends and kept in contact for many years after leaving school. When he

was 16 he fell in love with Edith Mary Bratt, his future wife. Tolkien’s

guardian, Father Francis didn’t like them being together, he believed that

Edith was distracting Tolkien from his school work. He forbade him to see her or even talk to her until Tolkien

turned 21. On his 21st birthday Tolkien asked Edith to marry him in a letter,

her answer was yes and they finally got married in 1916. Since Birmingham is the place where he grew up, it played

a very important part of his life. There are number of parks and walkways in

Hall Green and Moseley areas dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien. Although

he was an author of academic work on Anglo-Saxon and Middle English, it is for his novels that Tolkien is best known, The Hobbit (1937) and the

trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954/55) are the best selling fiction books of the

20th century.

by Nikolett Schiszler

J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy books made him one of the most well known and successful writers of the 20th century and it is said that buildings in Bir-mingham were the inspi-ration for some places in his books.

“...wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant... Barad-dûr, fortress of Sauron.”

concreteAfter being labelled the “concrete jun-

gle” by many, it’s not surprising why Birmingham City Council brought in plans of redevelopment. With 1970’s

architecture still remaining in parts of the city, it becomes clear why people of Birmingham would prefer a more

modern look. Architecture can give an environment certain connotations, and

project the nature of a place. This brutalist look of concrete which still

exists in certain parts of the city could reflect badly and reduce tourism. It

makes a place look dull and depressing, and can affect how people feel in these environments. When you compare The Pallasades and other old

fashioned shopping centres against the more modern centres such as The Bullring and The Mailbox, a clear

divide can be seen. People feel welcome, and the areas seem more

open with the use of glass construction and other modern features. Concrete can give areas a claustrophobic feel,

and seem like monstrosities taking over cities. The density of the

building, with lack of windows and visual space makes the buildings look dull and bleak. More recent buildings tend to break up the aesthetics with a

use of colour or different materials such as glass or metal. The 1964 Bull Ring

Centre was criticised for its aggressive concrete finish, and was

replaced with a much more favoured and modern design. As a part of

Birmingham’s redevelopment plans, the Pallasades shopping centre is set to be redesigned alongside its neighbouring

New Street Station. Diminishing the eyesore concrete grey style, and being

replaced by an “avant-garde” style exterior to compliment its

surrounding buildings. Similarly, the old Birmingham Central Library, with

its exterior much to be desired for, is set to be accompanied by a new Library of Birmingham. Again, a clear difference

in architectural design can be seen, and the concrete slabs have been replaced with glass, metal, colour and lighting.

The concrete jungle is slowly being replaced by new modern architecture but the buildings are still visible, contributing to the visual aesthetic of the city in an arguably negative way.

The original central library has been heavily criticised as an eye sore, and

was even commented on by Prince Charles as “looking more like a place

for burning books, than keeping them”. Prince Charles has also commented on other buildings, and has been a heavy critic of brutalist architecture, calling

them “piles of concrete”. The brutalist movement has been largely replaced

with structural expressionism and de-constructivism. Another criticism

of the material would be that it doesn’t age well, especially in damp climates.

The buildings will become stained due to rain and other climate effects, and

can attract moss. This creates a decayed look, and can decrease the aesthetic

appeal of the buildings.

by Sadie Rose May

depression

depression

responses to the

new

I just got in town today!Why are they building it?

They are throwing it up so fast, I mean, how long’s it going to last. The old one was only built in the

70’s.

As long as the lifts work. Yeah, I’ve just come from the old one!I like new things and Birmingham’s

progressiveness and to do new things, but the name for fucks sake ‘the library

of Birmingham’ I mean, really?

Yeah...I like it.

I haven’t really used the old one but it looks good.

Don’t do nothing for me, I’ve been using the old one for years. It’s the content that counts, not

the looks.

We’re not from here, so I dunno what you’re on about.

libraryWe asked the people of Birmingham to give us a few words on their thoughts on what they thought of the new library, whether they thought it was a good idea or not and their opinions on the design.

It’s better than the old one.

Why are they building it?

We’re not from here, so I dunno what you’re on about.

library

It’s taking so long and takes up too much space from centanry square.

It’s very big, sort of impressive, it’s going to dominate.

Bigger than expected, half my friends like it half of them don’t I still haven’t decided.

It’s very odd looking, but thats probably a good thing. I still haven’t decided if I like it

or not.

It’s an eye sore.Better than the old one.

Loud and proud.

It’s better than the old one.

Hideous, over engineered and useless because books will be obsolete because

of the internet soon.

It isn’t really there yet, but it looks good as I see it going up, the colour breaks it up although initially I thought it looked like barbwire. Looking forward

to it, going to have lots of IT.

Good development, interesting to see it and know what it looks like when it’s finished. It’s

cool.

Not as bad as I thought It’d be. I thought the iron mesh would go all the way to the top. The world’s supposed to end in 2012, so its a bit pointless, we won’t even get to use it.

It looks outstanding. There you are. That’s three

109visual culture