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Paradise pre development 2014 -2016

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Just seen it on the Teletext on TV - Utter Chaos - Crossing Brum by car will be a nightmare, Town for pedestrians will be a massive building site for years - And we are supposed to be making great cuts S OUR city IS 'Broke' !
 
Anyone got a sense of déjà vu? Many of us remember the building site (I mean City Centre) of the 1950s/60s and there were far less cars. When I said they'd dropped the 'Circus' in the title, maybe it should stay in then - as in 'Circus act '. End of facetious comment! Viv.
 
It's no secret that I'm a lover of modern buildings like the Library of Birmingham, Selfridges and the Cube but the rubbish that's going up in place of the old Library is awful. Should be kept as a big open public area.
 
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Viv
I don't think it was a facetious comment , just reasonable comment. As to Friothy's comment about the replacement buildings, I'm no architect, but , as viewed in the drawings it would seem that they were put together by the architect's son using his Lego kit.
 
mikejee said:
As to Friothy's comment about the replacement buildings, I'm no architect, but , as viewed in the drawings it would seem that they were put together by the architect's son using his Lego kit.
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I believe the buildings shown in the current plans are only "mock ups".

They cant redevelop the whole site in one go so they will have to do it piecemeal, so for example they cant knock down the Copthorne hotel till they have built its replacement. THEN they can knock down the Copthorne.

So each building on the site will be individually designed and built, rather like they did with Brindley Place, where each building is different.
 
cookie273uk said:
more glass, concrete and tarmac to add to the existing umpteen acres, I despair. Eric
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Where is the MORE glass, concrete and tarmac?

They are knocking down a large number of buildings; the old library, the Copthorne hotel, Fletchers walk, the Conservitoire etc. and replacing them with new buildings.

So it is pretty much "like for like", we are gaining no more glass, concrete or tarmac.

In fact when the old library has gone we will gain a nice wide "walkway" in its place that will take you from the front of the BMAG right over to Centenary Square, which will be far better than walking under the old library past McDonalds, Wetherspoons, Greggs etc which we do at the moment.

And in fact because we will "lose" the road that currently goes under the old library (to make it better for pedestrians) we will have LESS tarmac.
 
Guilbert
I would agree that the removal of that the removal of the bombsite (well it did look like that to me) that was Paradise Circus and the old library will open up the area . With regard to the "mock ups" then basically the whole thing is a sham and a distortion. If they do not know what is going to go there, then , to any normal person, it means nothing. These mockups do great harm in thta they show nothing , yet may imply to some that some features will be there that never come to fruition. The whole thing is like Osborne's financial statements, hot air and mirrors
 
well, I will not be around when it is all finally complete so I will not be affected but it would be nice to see them use the more traditional materials in the replacement buildings such as brick, stone marble terra cotta, tile etc. Look what happened to the wonderful old buildings when they rebuilt the Bull Ring in the 60's, why didn't they restore the much loved old market hall instead of destroying it, Saint Martins was once the dominant feature of the Bull Ring and rightly so, it certainly isn't now ! I realise there are a lot of Brummies who like the new Bull Ring, particularly the younger generation but its not for me, I have not even visited the new Bull Ring nor never will. Please excuse my rant but the ravishing of the old city centre is a sore point with me. Eric
 
cookie273uk said:
well, I will not be around when it is all finally complete so I will not be affected but it would be nice to see them use the more traditional materials in the replacement buildings such as brick, stone marble terra cotta, tile etc. Look what happened to the wonderful old buildings when they rebuilt the Bull Ring in the 60's, why didn't they restore the much loved old market hall instead of destroying it, Saint Martins was once the dominant feature of the Bull Ring and rightly so, it certainly isn't now ! I realise there are a lot of Brummies who like the new Bull Ring, particularly the younger generation but its not for me, I have not even visited the new Bull Ring nor never will. Please excuse my rant but the ravishing of the old city centre is a sore point with me. Eric
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go ahead and rant eric...i feel just as you do....

lyn
 
Charlie said:
It certainly doesn't fill me with joy and anticipation.
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nor me charlie...my only concern is the preservation of the fine buildings that we still have left...the ones thats are being slung up now will never become historial buildings and will not be the admiration of people in 150 years time...be very lucky if they are still around in 50 years.

lyn
 
cookie273uk said:
well, I will not be around when it is all finally complete so I will not be affected but it would be nice to see them use the more traditional materials in the replacement buildings such as brick, stone marble terra cotta, tile etc. Look what happened to the wonderful old buildings when they rebuilt the Bull Ring in the 60's, why didn't they restore the much loved old market hall instead of destroying it, Saint Martins was once the dominant feature of the Bull Ring and rightly so, it certainly isn't now ! I realise there are a lot of Brummies who like the new Bull Ring, particularly the younger generation but its not for me, I have not even visited the new Bull Ring nor never will. Please excuse my rant but the ravishing of the old city centre is a sore point with me. Eric
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Eric, the people in charge of the redevelopment of our great City could not care less for Heritage, History and Pride. They will do what they want regardless of public opinion or common sense not to say the public purse that will bankroll these " pie in the sky " schemes. How much has just been spent on the "restorations" of the tunnels around Town only for them to be obliterated in this new "redevelopment"
jimbo
 
Apparently work starts on 5 Jan on the Paradise development. Not sure what that actually means, but keep eyes peeled. Paradise Forum is now closed. Viv.
 
Good morning viv Happy new year to you,
I have got an old picture of moor street which you can see from the Bull Ring (1930 at mid day,
Boots was formerly Oswald Bailey,s but now disappeared beneath the Inner ring road
Also I have a picture of Mrs A Find on with her Scottie dog standing out side their shop at 21 Winson. Green
Also may I add. A Mr F Jones the last. Man to escape. Alive photographed at the pit head of Hampstead colliery in 1908
At the moment I cannot post the picture as my scanners are down but wii try by Monday should be sorted by then
Have yourself a good day ,best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,,,,
 
Happy New Year to you too Alan. I wonder if you meant to post your last post on the 'Old street pics' thread? Not sure. Viv. xxx.
 
Hi viv
Yes I think I should have done, sorry about that I hope people will forgive me just of late my brain is getting like a pea brain
But I will try and get it right by Monday evening and post these cracking pic I have got to show
Have a good evening viv best wishes Alan,,, Astonian,,,,,
 
Look forward to seeing them Alan.

Am I right in thinking the demolition of the Central Library is imminent? Viv.
 
Looking at your excellent photographs ellbrown they are proof that not all demolitions are bad. Trouble is these concrete monstrosities would not have been affected by an "accidental" fire.
 
Mike, entirely agree with you, Ell Browns excellent pics bring out the sheer drabness of the concrete structures (particularly on dull days), most depressing but as you so rightly say they are almost fire proof, unlike the poor old Fox and Grapes. Eric
 
They shouldn't leave buildings empty for years and years, then someone burns them down!

Those Digbeth buildings near Digbeth Court car park never got repaired!

And that former dog homes site got knocked down eventually!


Hopefully the two fire wrecks in Kings Heath will get repaired (Kingsway and The Ritz).
 
I'd always thought that the reason the Central Library/Fletchers Walk always looked so drab and cold was because it was made out of concrete. But hey, the Romans managed to create some beauties, and they're still standing. EG....

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1420382939.991781.jpg

So it's down to the architects. Brutalism isn't really my cup of tea and in my mind this group of buildings has for a long time made that part of Birmingham unattractive, inhospitable and a blot on the landscape. Walking around there in the 70s/80s to get to work was a depressing start to the morning and a dreary walk in the evening. It all looked so unfinished and cold, like an experiment that went wrong and was simply abandoned.

Wonder if the architects will get it right this time? Viv.
 
Viv
I agree that concrete need not be ugly. The Ziggurats at the University of East Anglia are certainly not ugly, though a bit austere inside (or at least they were when built)
 
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