Birmingham: Architectural gem

October 8, 2023October 5, 2023 / mikeosbornphoto / 12 Comments

I recently visited Birmingham – the UK’s second city – on a quest to photograph some of its buildings.

And there’s a rich and varied seam of architecture to be found there. CONTINUE READING BELOW

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The vibrant city centre of Birmingham is a mix of building styles, from concrete leftovers of the 1960s and 70s to innovative recent additions including the Library of Birmingham.

Encased in an elegant gilded cage, this building was my first port of call and was truly impressive. Head upstairs to enjoy an elevated view over Birmingham city centre.

Another innovative must-see is the outlandishly tactile Selfridges building with its many voluptuous curves, while the silver-topped Grand Central complex also grabs the attention.

I took a bus ride to the University of Birmingham campus at Edgbaston, where I studied for a time.

Memories came cascading back, while the library I once inhabited has since been demolished and replaced with a sleek new gold-framed building.

Birmingham may have struggled with its reputation down the years, but my architectural tour showed there is a lot to see. Even if you’re not looking up at buildings like I did, it’s a city that has a lot to offer.

The Selfridges building inspires with its curves and textures

A brush with Brutalism

September 29, 2013 / mikeosbornphoto / 12 Comments

London is studded with tower blocks. The most modern glint with steely glass, soaring futuristically into the city’s sky. But peel back the decades and you come across lumbering hunks of concrete, apparently blotting the landscape, stark and unforgiving.

My Open House London whirlwind took me to Balfron Tower in east London, an astonishing residential block built in the early 1960s. This building, from the Brutalist school of architecture, is by no means elegant, but was awarded Grade II listed status in 1996.

There was quite a queue to take a tour around this beast. One resident passed by and declared “there is nothing interesting about this building!”

We were ushered in by a young artist who has a one-bedroomed apartment on the 24th floor. Surprisingly, the lift was smooth and didn’t stink of urine. Her flat, on a bleak walkway, had a pleasing Soviet era starkness about it – and a commanding view.

There is little coziness about this tower block, which looms menacingly over the cityscape. It hasn’t fallen apart yet and is going to be refurbished. I’m a huge advocate of the tower block. They are an eternal source of compelling photography.