Reopening dawns for Britain's first arts centre - mac

The £15 million redevelopment of the Midland Arts Centre or MAC as it's more commonly known will be unveiled after nearly two years of construction and a decade of planning, opening on May 1 Midlands Arts Centre ready to reopen after £15m revamp.

The original buildings, developed in the sixties, have been expanded and revamped to attract more artists, performers and visitors.

Key improvements include a new gallery, larger theatre, performing arts studio and disabled access.

Sally Luton, regional executive director for Arts Council England West Midlands, said: “The Mac team have created an extraordinary and beautiful space. Midlands Arts Centre ready to reopen after £15m revamp

The centre, officially titled The Midlands Arts Centre for Young People, is regarded as Britain's first arts centre and was the brainchild of John English, a former industrial chemist with a passion for theatre whose ideas were supported by Sir Frank Price, the dynamic leader of the City in the 1960s known for ripping out the Victorian heart of the city. English's vision was "a campus arts centre in a park" which would introduce children and young people to the theatre, http://www.createdinbirmingham.com/2008/02/13/grimley-on-the-mac/.

The centre opened in 1963 and was seen initially by critics as being paternalistic with it's membership basis and middle-class ethos. The centre went through changing times reflecting the changes of the post 1960's world with a drinks licence amongst many developments that seemed at odd with English's vision. Some of English's vision was unfulfilled such as his Swan Theatre plans with the existing 200 seat studio theatre planned as a training theatre. Other developments were the addition of a cinema and moves to exhibition space and developments in mime, dance and physical theatre. mac is the most visited arts centre in the West Midlands with more than 500,000 visitors a year with over 21 per cent of it's user from Black and minority ethnic audiences and 43 per cent of it's audience aged 25 and under.

The newly-refurbished Mac will be unveiled to the public on May 1 with a programme of events following the £13.6 milion project which has been jointly funded by the Arts Council England, Birmingham City Council and a Mac and Sampad, South Asian arts organisation, fundraising campaign. The development has aimed to dramatically improve physical access - creating a more effective and efficient arts centre.

Plan, elevations and images of the redevelopment







Construction work on the redevelopment





The mac's website: http://www.macarts.co.uk

£560,000 golden touch towards saving hoard

With 13 weeks to raise the £3.3 million needed to secure the Staffordshire Hoard for the Midlands a briefing note from Birmingham City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture to the Leisure, Sport and Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 10 February 2010 shows £560,000 has been raised so far with a further £130 - 150,000 pledged from various charitable trusts.


Image reproduced from Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Flickr gallery "The Staffordshire Hoard", http://www.flickr.com/photos/finds/3920443764/in/set-72157622378376316/

The Art Fund, the UK's leading independent Art Charity, is spearheading the fundraising campaign to keep it in the Midlands with a launch on 13 January 2010 fronted by Dr David Starkey attracting national media coverage. The campaign has gained the support of the leaders of the three main UK political parties, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg together with celebrities Michael Palin, Tony Robinson, Judi Dench and Bill Wyman.

The media attention during the display of the items in September 2009 saw 340 items on radio, TV, online and in the press with every major broadcaster in America, Canada and Australia covering the story. There were broadcasts from Birmingham by Fox, CBS, NBC, CNN, Canada TV, Discovery Channel and ABC Radio in Australia together with live interviews wit the Vatican News agency and filming within the museum from Canada TV and ‘New Tang Dynasty Television’ China.

The Art Fund fundraising launch in January included an initial grant of £300,000 from their own resources and announcements of initial contribitions from Birmingham and Stoke on Trent City Council's of £100,000 each.

Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery together with the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent are seeking to raise £3.3 million to acquire the hoard and also raise a further £1.7 million for conservation work and to allow more research to take place as well as displaying items in Birmingham and Stoke on Trent and allowing for the loan of items to Tamworth Castle and Lichfield Cathedral

A selection of items from the Hoard will go on display again with items on display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent from 13 February to 7 March 2010 and a display of a selection of the artefacts at BMAG from mid March 2010 (although dates are to be confirmed).

The display at BMAG in September 2009 which ran upto October 13th 2009 saw 39,605 people visit with the Museum and Art Gallery attracting three times it's usual visitor numbers with 64,775 visitors during this period


The British Museum has produced a guide to the Staffordshire Hoard with a £1 from the £4.99 price going towards the fundraising appeal.



Donations can be made at the Art Fund website: https://www.artfund.org/staffordshire_hoard/donate

Full steam ahead as New Station gets green light

Following my previous post on the recommendation for approval of the reserved matters planning application for New Street Station, Reserving judgment on New New Street, the City Council's planning committee gave unanimous approval for the application.

The announcement of planning approval also saw Foreign Office Architects and Atkins release new pictures of the redevelopment. The pictures below are reproduced from Building Design, FOA's Birmingham New Street station wins approval.








Council Leader Mike Whitby commented: “The redeveloped New Street Gateway will provide a focal point for far wider regeneration of the entire city over the next 10-15 years, and is one of the main components of the city’s £6 billion worth of publicly funded regeneration projects currently on our books.

“Delivering a world-class station to the city will enhance our international reputation and investment potential while also drastically improving services nationally and regionally, and give Birmingham a central station that befits its status as a global destination.” Birmingham New Street Station project given go-ahead

The approval has come with a warning message to Network Rail however to ensure that it maintains it's 'sensational' look and doesn't become gloomy like it's predecessor, Network Rail told to make New Street look good for decades.

Planners gave their unanimous support but also demanded assurances that the shiny stainless steel cladding will not tarnish once it is built.

Planning committee member Coun Ian Ward (Lab, Shard End) said: “The design is very, very good. The polished mirror stainless steel cladding is really sensational.

“But I am worried that over time it will deteriorate and tarnish and detract from this building.

“I would like to know what assurances we have that the stainless steel will be maintained and continue to look as good as it does in the images.” Network Rail told to make New Street look good for decades.

Work in the station is expected to start later this year and despite the significant changes it has been planned to minimise the impact on passengers. The Pallasades shopping centre will remain open and train services will continue to operate. Over 40m people use New Street every year with 140,000 using it every day despite the station rebuilding of 1967 catering for 60,000 The work is expected to provide £2.3 billion in economic benefits.

Network Rail is investing £350 million renewing the signalling systems through New Street and the West Midlands over the next ten years.

Detailed plans showing the redevelopment from the planning application are in my earlier post, Shiny station plans submitted.

Reserving judgment on New New Street

Thursday 4th February sees the Reserved Matters planning application for New Street Station's redevelopment go before Birmingham City Council's Planning Committee.



The following excerpts are taken from the Committee Report going before the committee recommending Approval subject to conditions.

Reserved matters to outline planning consent 2009/03086/PA for the redevelopment of phase one (comprising redevelopment of New Street Station and adjoining land including changes to the Pallasades Shopping Centre, the demolition of Stephenson Tower, associated highway works, creation of public spaces and infrastructure works), including siting, design and external appearance of the building(s) and landscaping.

Siting of the Building
The station building and position of the railway tracks remain in the same location but the footprint of the building alters as a result of remodelling. Firstly, a new curved projection to the north-west corner is proposed to provide an improved pedestrian access into the station.
Secondly, a similar “bulge” is proposed to the south east of the station to provide additional retailing to compensate for retail floor space lost for the new atrium. Thirdly, the north-east corner has been cut back to create an access linking Stephenson Street to Worcester Street. Additionally, Stephenson Tower will be demolished to create the new southern plaza.

At concourse level, the existing area will be enlarged to three and a half times the size of the present concourse, include comfortable waiting lounges and features a light-filled atrium.
The new concourse will form a publicly accessible north-south route through the station flanked by retail units, with a spur opening the station up to the east. The new north-south pedestrian route through will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whilst the eastern access link will be open during the station’s operational hours approx 05.30 – 00.30. An area with mezzanine level will be provided at the North-West corner with access off the station concourse level to accommodate office space for Train Operating Companies and station plant.
At platform level, the existing enclosed waiting rooms will be removed, accessibility improved with over 21 new vertical circulation links, including staircases, 26 escalators and 14 lifts to the concourse above, and floor, ceiling and wall surfaces renewed.

The existing Pallasades Shopping Centre will remain, but will be reconfigured to allow for the creation of the new atrium roof over the station concourse through the central core of the building, which will involve the loss of existing retail units within the central part of the hopping centre. Replacement retail space will be provided within the “bulge” to the southeast.
An existing public right of way running from the Stephenson Street ramp through the Pallasades Shopping Centre, across the pedestrian bridge and down the southern external staircase to Station Street will be relocated so that the shopping centre can be completely closed out of hours. The existing linked walkway between Stephenson Street and the Bullring Shopping Centre will be retained and new vertical circulation points will be created to the northwest and south. Access to Exchange House will also be retained.

External Appearance
It is proposed that the rainscreen cladding will be mirror polished stainless steel. The rainscreen cladding will cloak the Pallasades Shopping Centre, the multi-storey car park above the station, plant at roof level and the extended Navigation Street footbridge. Large eye-shaped media screens, inserted within the cladding, will highlight and from a distance give legibility to the three main access points to the station, the southern entrance, eastern square and the north-west corner. The existing pedestrian ramp from New Street to the Pallasades will be defined by an eyebrow shape in the stainless steel cladding to the Stephenson Street façade.

Consultation/PP Responses
CABE – fully support this application, which has significantly improved on many aspects of the approved outline scheme. The proposal demonstrates integrity and rigour and all elements are well coordinated, working together to generate a single unified design.
However, while we are confident that this has the potential to be world class piece of architecture, we caution the client and local planning authority to guard against the erosion of design that could lessen the impact of this impressive proposal. Pleased that the concept architects have been appointed to develop construction details for the façade and atrium but recommend their ongoing involvement in all aspects of the design. This will help to ensure that the strong design concepts are not diluted and the materials and construction details are consistent with the overall design approach.

Access Committee – the redeveloped station should be an exemplar of an accessible underground station in all respects for all travellers, not only disabled people. The external area is particularly critical in view of the physical aspects of the site. In particular the proposed “Spanish Steps” to the south of the station should be suitably equipped with tactile corduroy and contrasting edging. Handrails should be warm to touch materials. As there is only one lift it should be of a large enough capacity to manage use by large mobility scooters and tandem pushchairs. It should be under close “turn around” maintenance in the event of failures and covered by CCTV for security. Signage for the lift and accessible routes should be provided. Bollards around the station should be installed to with due regard to the needs
of people with sight impairment.

More images of the redevelopment are shown in my earlier post, Shiny station plans submitted.

Evergreen Moor Street

Rail News has reported that work has commenced on reconnecting terminus platforms at Birmingham Moor Street to the national network, http://rail-news.com/2010/01/08/chiltern-railways-applies-for-evergreen-3-twa/.

The works take place just under a year since an application was submitted to cover the reconnection of two of the three bay platforms at Moor Street Station and the provision of two sidings, http://birminghamcentral.blogspot.com/2009/03/camp-hill-moor-street-and-chiltern.html.

A diagram of the proposed track layout:


The plans submitted in 2009 reveal the following details regarding the reconnection:
(i) the connection of two of the three terminal platforms to the network, each of which will be capable of accommodating 8x23 metre cars
(ii) the creation of two carriage sidings over the viaduct towards Bordesley, each to be capable of accommodating 8x23 metre cars with associated staff walkways
(iii) the track, signalling and structures work required to facilitate the above – including repairs to the currently disused part of the viaduct south of the station to make it capable of carrying trains.

The reconnection will also allow for Chiltern Railways to operate commuter services to Snow Hill during peak time and services for shoppers and visitors to Moor Street for off peak times.

Chiltern is seeking to divert some of the trains to terminate at the bay platforms at Moor Street, Mondays to Fridays off peak, 10 Up and 11 Down; Saturdays 9 Up and 11 Down; and Sundays 10 Up and 10 Down, http://birminghamcentral.blogspot.com/2009/03/camp-hill-moor-street-and-chiltern.html.

Meanwhile Rail News also reports that Chiltern Railways has applied for a Transport and Works Act to undertake its Evergreen 3 project following the earlier phases which saw 18 miles of track doubled between Bicester and Aynho and the addition of 2 platforms at London Marylebone and an increase in line speed and additional signals. Evergreen 3 will see a new Oxford to Marylebone service introduced; a new station at Water Eaton and a short chord constructed to connect the main Chiltern line to London Marylebone should allow for 2 London-Oxford services each hour in each direction from 2013. If plans move ahead well and there are no delays from a likely planning inquiry it is hoped to open the route as soon as possible, ideally before 2013.

The £250m investment is part of a required package to confirm Chiltern’s right to keep operating from London Marylebone until 2021 and is the first new rail route between London and a UK city in a century, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b8d1196e-0161-11df-8c54-00144feabdc0.html.

The Evergreen project should also reduce journey times for passengers travelling between Birmingham and London.

Chiltern, owned by Germany’s state-run Deutsche Bahn, is also working on improvements to its main line, which links Marylebone with Birmingham via High Wycombe.
The improvements, some of which will be complete in time for December’s timetable change, will see the shortest London to Birmingham journey time cut by 25 minutes to one hour 32 minutes. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b8d1196e-0161-11df-8c54-00144feabdc0.html

A Birmingham Snow Dream

Not quite a day dream but just over a year ago Birmingham was covered in snow. While not as extensive or as disruptive as this January's snow the following picture shows how the Cathedral looked in early February 2009 and how it looked with the recent snow.

3rd February 2009


6th January 2010

Electric Centenary

The oldest working cinema in the UK, the Electric Cinema in Birmingham, is celebrating it's centenary. The cinema, built in a converted taxi rank, showed its first silent movie on 27 December 1909.

The cinema operated until 1931 when it became an amusement arcade for a short period. It returned to being a cinema in 1936 and went through several incarnations with names ranging from the Select Cinema, Tatler News Theatre, The Jacey, The Classic, and The Tivoli. It returned to it's original Electric name in 1993 before closing in December 2003. In 2004 the cinema was bought by Thomas Lawes Media Ltd and it underwent a conversion to a centre for film making and exhibition. It went through a £250,000 refit and restoration, returning the building to it's original 1930s Art Deco look using pictures from that period.

A special screening is due to be held of some of the archived material on 21 December with interviews from former staff and customers, accompanied by the music of Steve Tovey, the UK's last full-time cinema organist.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8415188.stm

The Electric Website can be accessed at: www.theelectric.co.uk/