The story of John Madin, architect
John Madin was a highly active 20th Century architect, responsible for many iconic, and also much more workaday buildings.
John Madin
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/John-Madin.jpg/640px-John-Madin.jpg
John Madin was born in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1924.
Birmingham Central Library
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Chamberlain_Square,_Birmingham_April_2007.jpg
He started his company in 1962, and created much of the radical architecture that characterised post-war Birmingham. His most famous building is one which will be demolished in early 2015 – Birmingham's colossal Central Library.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Interior_Birmingham_Central_Library.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei2Hv4yQc98
Since it was built, it has divided opinion. Council officials, local media and the Prince of Wales, all too happily criticised it for being 'a monstrosity'. Prince Wales even suggested it looked like somewhere you would burn books, rather than read them. But what does he know, eh?
http://www.createdinbirmingham.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/central-library1.jpg
Look at this beautiful shot of the interior space of the library, back when it was first built. What a sense of awe it creates!
http://john-madin.info/obituary_images/slideshow/11-JM-600-BBC-Pebble-Mill-Aerial.jpg
Madin also designed the BBC's Pebble Mill building – now demolished. 'Pebble Mill At One' was a show I remember from my childhood quite clearly.
Some quality stars in this clip too :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieerqld-NQE
Twitter accounts like @BrutalHouse cover all sorts of post-war design.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B6cK_MLIcAE8d77.jpg
Vocal campaign groups called for Madin's library to be saved, but to no avail. Twitter was a particularly good way of reminding people why the building was important.