This project considers two dimensions of modernist heritage through the study of and design praxis for Smallbrook Ringway Centre. Designed by Birmingham born and educated architect James Roberts, it was completed in 1962 as one of the first buildings to line the city’s inner ring road. A key part of the project is concerned with the ways in which the building reflected and responded to the rapidly changing order of the city as part of a longer-term reconception according to an initially civic and later technical intent. Another dimension of the project explores that legacy and the counterproposal for the adaptive reuse of the building, and arguments for its retention based on heritage and climate change.
This project is led by Dr Mike Dring. As founder of Birmingham Modernist Society, he has played a central role in the campaign to save locally listed Smallbrook Ringway Centre though the design of a counterproposal for adaptive reuse, which has led Birmingham City Council to review their planning approval for its demolition and replacement.