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The City Architect of Birmingham was a high-ranking position within the Public Works department of Birmingham City Council and provided the holder with a lot of power in the planning decisions of Birmingham, especially in the post-war period in which Birmingham underwent enormous regeneration. Combined with the City Engineer position, which was held by Sir Herbert Manzoni, the City Architect designed or had an important say in all city council building projects. The position was created in the 1950s by the Public Works department to assist the design and construction of large building projects that were prompted by the demands of the growing population and by the vast amounts of money being invested into regenerating areas that had been devastated by the Luftwaffe in the Birmingham Blitz. In the 1950s, Birmingham was suffering from a housing shortage for approximately 65,000 families and the council's initial attitude was to construct temporary prefabricated homes. However, as demand for longer-lasting flats grew, the council decided that it these were necessary and that the five redevelopment areas, designated by Manzoni, were to be the key foci for modern housing provision. ==1952–63: Alwyn Sheppard Fidler== The first architect to be given the position of City Architect of Birmingham was Alwyn Sheppard Fidler, who moved from the chief architect for the new town of Crawley in 1952. In 1954, Fidler established his own Architect's Department as the work load increased. His initial commissions were small-scale projects such as the former Register Office on Broad Street, although he was given the opportunity to exhibit his preference towards mixed-use provision – usually a combination of residential properties and retail units. He also advocated the approach by the council towards high-density housing. In his first few years of being City Architect, Fidler witnessed the construction of many five and six story residential schemes designed by Manzoni such as the Marston Green estate. Fidler expressed his distate towards the designs of these estates, calling Manzoni's designs 'mud pies'. When Fidler created the Architect's Department, he was able to enforce three policies that would change the quality of housing design. Firstly, he ensured that he was responsible for all the housing projects that were being built by national contractors such as Wimpey that the city council was working with. Secondly, he ended the construction of Manzoni's six storey blocks and replaced them with schemes that were more specific towards the individual site and reflected for the need for the type of housing in the area. Finally, he called for the appointment of a landscape architect to improve the layout of large housing estate, a policy that surprised many Birmingham councillors. These policies did take time to come into effect as many of his designs were still affected by external forces and practices. Under Manzoni, the designs for housing blocks had been negotiated with the contractors to bring down construction costs and times. But the formation of his own department that gave him independence from Manzoni made it easier for Fidler to have a free hand in design. The change in the quality of design was almost immediate with Fidler's designs for suburban flats in Rubery and the Hankley Farm estate being selected for an exhibition at the Royal Academy and also being published by the ''Review'' in 1954 for its annual Preview. The designs consisted of six storey blocks built of load-bearing brickwork. The brickwork was used for both the exterior and the thin infill walls.〔 The first tower blocks to be constructed by the council was the construction of four tower blocks in Duddeston. Collectively known as the Duddeston Four, the 12-storey High, Queens, Home and South Towers, were all completed between 1954 and 1955 to a design by S. N. Cooke and Partners. The design was expensive and upon their completion, they were criticised by the council over their cost, despite receiving positive reviews from the ''Municipal Journal'' and ''Architectural Review''. These would be the last privately designed high-density residential properties constructed by the council. As well as designing residential schemes, Fidler also collaborated with private architect's firms to produce designs for schemes such as Hall Green Technology College, designed in association with S. T. Walker and Partners and completed in 1958. The use of reinforced concrete, cedar boards and aluminium frames for windows and the lack of brickwork showed how much influence S. T. Walker and Partners had on the design. Another educational building designed by Fidler is Ladywood County Primary School in 1961.〔 Part of the City Architect's work involved conservation and repairing buildings which had been damaged in World War II. An example of this is the reconstructed Edmund Street elevation above the entrance to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in 1958.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Birmingham Trail, TWO )〕 A project that Fidler became involved with was the Civic Centre scheme which had started just before World War II and resulted in the partially completed Baskerville House. In 1958, he produced a less formal layout with four residential tower blocks linked municipal offices on their north side. Whilst this was never constructed in his time as City Architect, it was generally approved and modified by the successor to Fidler. At the turn of the 1960s, the council began to propose and construct larger and more dramatic schemes. Manzoni's lack of experience in high-rise schemes led to Fidler being commissioned to design these more ambitious schemes. The Lyndhurst estate in Erdington was completed in 1960 to a design by Fidler and featured five tower blocks, including Harlech Tower which was the tallest tower block in the city upon completion. In the following year, the entire estate won a Civic Design Award reflecting the quality of the design and the use of materials. Whilst there had been opposition towards the demolition of the upmarket Victorian villas that were demolished to allow for the construction of the estate, much praise was given towards the masterplan which incorporated the existing mature trees. However, the council's increasing demand for more housing estates led to a lesser focus over quality of design. Fidler was a supporter of a phased approach to development, unlike the council who wanted schemes to be built all at once. In 1962, at a time when more homes were being demolished than being constructed by the council, Fidler urged the council to adopt the French Camus system which consisted of housing at a density of approximately 50 houses per hectare and 80 people per acre. The council refused this and demanded 48 homes per hectare with 75 people per acre. In 1963, following the rejection of his plan of a 'garden city' for the Castle Vale estate, Fidler resigned from his position. One of his final works was the expansion of the College of Advanced Technology (now Aston University) which was carried out in phases between 1957 and 1965. He was quickly succeeded by J. R. Sheridan-Shedden, the deputy City Architect who held the position temporarily. Upon taking the position, he designed a revised masterplan for the Castle Vale estate. The new masterplan used the Radburn Layout which consisted of super-blocks of housing, schools, retail and offices around a communal open space, a concept which was created by Clarence Stein in Radburn, New Jersey in 1929. The council attempted to limit the damage caused to their reputation as a result of the scandal surrounding the resignation of Fidler by embarking on a major building project at Castle Vale with five new goals. They increased housing output at the estate by an extra 4,000 homes, aimed to reduce the cost of dwellings, introducing industrialised forms of construction to save labour, attracting new national contractors to work in Birmingham, and increase capacity by providing continuous work for contractors. Between 1968 and 1969, 30,000 had been constructed on the estate and the council boasted a 'world record'. Despite the vast increase in housing output since Fidler, the quality of design had deteriorated. Reinforced concrete became the main material used due to its low cost and ease of use.〔 Following Fidler's departure, the council removed some of the power that the City Architect had in housing decisions. They also sought a new architect that shared their attitude towards construction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「City Architect of Birmingham」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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