Build it, they’ll come
In a week that has seen the deaths of both Number Six and Khaaaaan! it’s surprising that a 71-year-old architect passing away would inspire so many column inches. It’s even more surprising that BiNS is the place I chose to write about it, but Jan Kaplický has done something great for Brum — given us something that is recognised around the World.
Photo by and © Steve Cooper
You only have to pop over to Flickr to see that the building is very special, a piece of art that inspires others to create. He designed other buildings, like the cigar shaped press centre at Lords, but Selfridges is the one that people point to — and by pointing to that they’re pointing to Birmingham.
It is disappointing to see it from above (from the Rotunda for example) and find that the space-age look doesn’t continue — but from all other angles it shows up other buildings for the boring boxes they are (especially the rest of the of the Bull Ring).
Thanks Jan, and thanks to those that let him plonk the dalek’s bum down in Brum.
Sad to see he passed on just as his wife had given birth to a baby.
71 – randy bugger
(apologies if the picture loads slow for some people – I should sort a faster host one day)
Actually didn’t need emphasize ‘to a baby’ she was hardly giving birth to a water buffalo
Cheers for the use of the photo steve (if it’s loading slowly it’s my server rather than yours playing up tho
)