Discover the stories and secrets of Brum’s Hidden Spaces.
As part of the RIBA Love Architecture Week there is a photography exhibition on at the moment running until Sunday 29th June called ‘Birmingham’s Hidden Spaces’. The aim of the exhibition is to reveal the stories and secrets behind the façades of many well-known buildings throughout the city.
The exhibition is located in the grade I listed entrance building of the former Curzon Street Station; the only surviving relic of the grand railway terminus and also one of the subjects of the exhibition. Hidden Spaces is a joint collaboration between the RIBA, local practice Associated Architects and The Birmingham Post and is open to the public free of charge.
The Birmingham Post has been publishing regular articles about the subjects of the exhibition over the past few months along with their associated stories. The exhibition is the amalgamation of all these stories with fantastic photographs and behind the scene glimpses of these rare and unusual spaces.
Hidden spaces on display include the 1960’s control room in the Signal Box at New Street Station, the subterranean hidden tunnels of the Newhall Anchor Exchange and the vaults under the Birmingham Municipal Bank on Broad Street.
I would definitely recommend a visit and it is also a chance to have a sneak look inside the monumental Curzon Street building. This grand Neo-Classical building has stood empty since 2006 and will be incorporated into the future plans for the new High Speed 2 Terminus at Eastside.
The building was built in 1838 and has four large Ionic columns at the front marking the entrance. There is also a plaque next to the large entrance door commemorating the first train from London to Birmingham. Inside there is a spacious lobby with a stone staircase but unfortunately many original features no longer remain. The scale of the building is rather odd as not only does it look quite imposing externally but inside it is equally as ‘scaled up’. The doorways are massive, the ceilings lofty and the skirting boards ridiculously high- it’s almost like a giants dwelling!
If you are unfamiliar with this part of the city a visit to the exhibition also gives you the opportunity to explore the recent redevelopment of the City Park and the first phase of the new Birmingham City University Campus.
If you are interested in local history, heritage and the great city of Birmingham go and have a look.
More details about the exhibition are available via the link below:
Categories: Abandoned/Derelict Places, Heritage, Photography
Architecture on my doorstep 