NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Architecture of Birmingham

This article is about the architecture of Birmingham, England. Architecture (in Greek αρχή = first and τέχνη = craftsmanship) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... The city from above Centenary Square. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (2001) - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion...

Birmingham grew out of dozens of small villages, towns and farmsteads, particularly during the Industrial Revolution. The need to house the many industrial workers that flocked to the city from other areas led to many Victorian streets and terraces of back-to-back houses, some of which were later to become inner-city slums. The Industrial Revolution is the name given to the massive social, economic and technological change in 18th century and 19th century Great Britain. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ...

Although Birmingham has existed as a settlement for over 1000 years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with relatively little surviving from its early history.

St. Martin's Church in the centre of the Bullring was Birmingham's original parish church. A church has stood on the site since the 11th century. It was extensively re-built in the 1870s although retaining some original walls and foundations. Inside the church can be seen an effigy of Sir William de Bermingham - a medieval lord of the manor, dating from 1325. This is one of the few surviving links to Birmingham's medieval past. 2003 Bull Ring _ St Martins church and Selfridges The Bull Ring market has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages. ... An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture: the coin bears an effigy of Lincoln. An effigy is a rough representation of a person, for example a George W. Bush or Guy Fawkes made of straw and old clothing. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... For the area of Sheffield, in England, see Manor, Sheffield. ...

Some of the city's older black and white timber buildings can still be seen today like 'The Old Crown' public house in Digbeth, the 'Stone' public house in Northfield and Stratford House in Sparkbrook. An amusingly named pub (the Old New Inn) at Bourton-on-the-Water, in the Cotswold Hills of south west England A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries influenced by British culture. ... Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. ... Northfield is the name of several places in the United States of America and the United Kingdom: Northfield, West Midlands UK Northfield, Connecticut, USA Northfield, Illinois, USA Northfield, Kentucky, USA Northfield, Maine, USA Northfield, Minnesota, USA Northfield, New Hampshire, USA Northfield, New Jersey, USA Northfield, Ohio, USA Northfield, Vermont, USA... Categories: Stub | Birmingham, England ...

City of Birmingham Council House, with Dhruva Mistry's 'The River' in the foreground (commonly known as 'the floozie in the jacuzzi')

Many Georgian, Tudor, Edwardian and Elizabethan buildings still survive dotted around the city. These include Bournbrook Hall (Bournville), Selly Manor (a Tudor manor house), Minworth Greaves (a medieval hall), the 15th Century "Saracen's Head" and "Old Grammar School" (both Kings Norton), Handsworth Old Town Hall (1460; an example of early cruck timber frame construction), Soho House (Handsworth, 1766), and the 29m metre high Perrots Folly Ladywood which was built in 1758 by John Perrot and which was an inspiration to Tolkien. There is also Blakesley Hall in Yardley which was built in the 1500s. Download high resolution version (530x700, 167 KB)In the background is the City of Birmingham Council House (built 1879) which is considered one of Birminghams finest Victorian buildings as seen from Victoria square in the city centre. ... Download high resolution version (530x700, 167 KB)In the background is the City of Birmingham Council House (built 1879) which is considered one of Birminghams finest Victorian buildings as seen from Victoria square in the city centre. ... The Tudor style, a term applied to the Perpendicular style, was originally that of the English architecture and decorative arts produced under the Tudor dynasty that ruled England from 1485 to 1603, characterized as an amalgam of Late Gothic style formalized by more concern for regularity and symmetry, with round... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ... The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ... Bournville is an area on the south side of Birmingham England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate - including a dark chocolate branded Bournville. History Originally consisting of a scattering of farmsteads and cottages linked by winding country lanes, the only visual highlight being the Georgian... A manor house is a country houses, which historically formed the centre of a manor (see Manorialism). ... Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England . ... Handsworth is a suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. ... Soho House, Matthew Boultons home in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, is now a museum (opened in 1995), managed by Birmingham City Council, celebrating his life, his partnership with James Watt and his membership of the Lunar Society. ... Categories: Birmingham, England | Stub ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916, wearing his British Army uniform in a photograph from the middle years of WW1. ... Blakesley Hall is a Tudor hall on Blakesley Road in Yardley, Birmingham. ... Yardley constituency shown within Birmingham Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. ... Events Europes population was ~60 million. ...

The Victorian era saw an extensive building programme right across the city, examples of which can still be seen, with many churches and public buildings like the Birmingham Law Courts, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, the Town Hall and the City of Birmingham Council House. Many of the public buildings were built using red brick and terracotta. New Street and Corporation Street in the city centre have retained many of their fine Victorian buildings, providing an insight into how the city once looked. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Opened in 1885, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BM&AG), in Birmingham, England, has a collection of inernational importance, including a vast amount of first- class work by the Pre_Raphaelite Brotherhood and the largest collection of works by Edward Burne-Jones in the world. ... The Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, England were designed in 1829 and opened in 1832. ... The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery in the English city of Birmingham, situated in purpose built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. ... Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade 1 listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. ... Categories: UK geography stubs ... A weathered brick wall. ... Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ...

Part of the legacy of a unique aspect to the Victorian era can be followed in Birmingham by the survival of the Green men of Birmingham or foliate heads which consist of many unusual human heads carved of stone with vegetation growing out of their faces and can be found at selected locations across the city. The Green men of Birmingham (Green men, more recently known as foliate heads) were prolific carved stone human heads usually with vegetation growing from their faces and used as architectural decoration across Birmingham, having their origins in the medieval town. ...

Birmingham's industrial importance in World War II led to some of the heaviest bombing raids during the Blitz. This claimed many lives and many beautiful buildings too, but the destruction that took place in post war Birmingham was also extensive: dozens of fine Victorian buildings like the intricate glass-roofed Birmingham New Street Station, and the old Central Library, were destroyed in the 1950s and 1960s. These planning decisions were to have a profound effect on the image of Birmingham in subsequent decades, with the mix of concrete ring roads, shopping malls and tower blocks often referred to as a 'concrete jungle' or a city with no soul. The largest high-rise estate in Britain was constructed at Castle Vale with over 30 huge tower blocks in one small area. Birmingham has since learnt from this with one of the largest tower block demolition and renovation programmes anywhere in Europe, and the construction of new buildings, squares and green spaces. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Blitz, a popular English contraction of the German word Blitzkrieg, was the sustained and intensive bombing of Britain, particularly London, from September 7, 1940 through to May 1941 by the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Although the Blitz is named after Blitzkrieg, it was not an example of... The tracks at the eastern end of Birmingham New Street station Birmingham New Street is a major railway station located in the centre of the city of Birmingham, England. ... A beltway (American English), ring road or orbital motorway (British English) is a circumferential highway found around many cities. ... The Mall, an out-of-town shopping centre at Patchway, near Bristol, England. ... A tower block, block of flats or apartment block is a high-rise apartment building. ... A Concrete Jungle is often referred to as a city or an area of a city with many tower blocks or tenement flats made of brick and concrete. ... Castle Vale is an area of Birmingham, England, originally created as a housing estate in the 1960s. ...

The new Selfridges building

Birmingham's grade I listed Town Hall closed to the public in 1996, for a £31 million City Council-initiated major renovation. The redbrick Victoria Law Courts in Corporation Street, built in 1887, and Curzon Street Station are also Grade I listed. Download high resolution version (500x646, 158 KB)Birminghams iconic new Selfridges building, opened in 2003 a part of the new Bull Ring shopping centre in the city centre. ... Download high resolution version (500x646, 158 KB)Birminghams iconic new Selfridges building, opened in 2003 a part of the new Bull Ring shopping centre in the city centre. ... Buckingham Palace, a Grade I listed building. ... Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade 1 listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. ... Curzon Street Station was the train station which was at the end of the first line connecting Birmingham to London in the 1800s. ...

Many Grade II listed buildings also remain in the city, for instance the recently-listed, though empty, Grand Hotel on Colmore Row (1875, with additions in 1876, 1891 and 1895) and the popular 200ft-high Rotunda, a circular tower block at the South end of New Street. St Philip's Cathedral, built as a parish church, is in the heart of the city, and has glass by Edward Burne-Jones, The City of Birmingham Council House (see picture above) is also Grade II listed. The Rotunda is an iconic, cylindrical tower block in Birmingham, England. ... St Philips Cathedral St Philips Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral, in Colmore Row, Birmingham, England, dedicated to St Philip. ... Circe, by Edward Burne-Jones. ...

Some fine architects hail from the city such as Glenn Howells and Ken Shuttleworth, who sketched the original designs for London's 40 storey "gherkin" landmark, he worked on the Millennium Bridge, the new Wembley Stadium and Ken Livingstone's new City Hall. He is also working on Birmingham's £7 million new bus station in Digbeth. Ken Shuttleworth (born 1954 in Birmingham, England) is a celebrated British architect. ... Several bridges in the United Kingdom are known as the Millennium Bridge. ... Old Wembley Stadium (1923-2000) New Wembley Stadium (2006) England captain Bobby Moore with the Jules Rimet trophy. ...

More up-to-date architecture includes the award winning Future Systems' Selfridges building which is an irregularly-shaped structure, covered in thousands of reflective discs (see picture). Brindleyplace and Millennium Point are also examples of recent rejuvenation. Many new projects are planned for the city, including a new Library of Birmingham in the developing Eastside, Holloway Circus Tower (a 122 metre high skyscraper under construction), John Rocha's 'fashion first' Orion Tower (under construction) and Arena Central on Broad Street. The Media Centre at Lords Cricket Ground Future Systems is a London-based architectural and design practice, headed by Jan Kaplicky and Amanda Levete. ... Selfridges is a chain of department stores in the United Kingdom. ... Brindleyplace Brindleyplace is a large mixed_use canalside development, near the centre of Birmingham, England. ... Millennium Point is a complex in Birmingham, situated in the developing Eastside of the city centre. ... John Rocha (Born 23rd Aug 1953, Hong Kong) is an Irish fashion designer. ...