Read on Twitter
for context: manzoni was the “city engineer” for birmingham post-war and is pretty much single handedly responsible for the *arguably criminal* modernist redevelopment of birmingham including the ring roads https://twitter.com/ichoosemag/status/1351803940845793280
he literally hated old buildings: “often more sentimental than valuable”
buildings he knocked down include the birmingham central library (left) where paradise now is and st catherine’s church and masons college where the o2 academy now is (right two images)
buildings he knocked down include the birmingham central library (left) where paradise now is and st catherine’s church and masons college where the o2 academy now is (right two images)
post manzoni:
birmingham central library site on the left, church and masons college (o2 academy) on the right
birmingham central library site on the left, church and masons college (o2 academy) on the right
luckily paradise is now being redeveloped again...
arguably his most destructive policy was the inner city motorway network he built, which turned birmingham into arguably the most 'American' of cities in the UK in terms of road network, which strangled the city centre stopping investment outside of it
luckily, again, much of that has now changed
left hand image from previous tweet is now southside and the bullring, while the right hand image is 'Exchange Square' (Moor Street)
still work to do however, goes to show how long it takes to correct these mistakes!!
left hand image from previous tweet is now southside and the bullring, while the right hand image is 'Exchange Square' (Moor Street)
still work to do however, goes to show how long it takes to correct these mistakes!!
