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John Madin

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Not to be confused with John Madden.
John Madin
Madin in 2011
Born(1924-03-23)23 March 1924
Moseley, Birmingham, England
Died8 January 2012(2012-01-08) (aged 87)[1]
Southampton, England
Occupations
Notable workBirmingham Central Library

John Hardcastle Dalton Madin (23 March 1924 – 8 January 2012) was an English architect. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, was active in Birmingham for over 30 years.

Biography

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Madin was born in Moseley, Birmingham, on 23 March 1924.[2] He served in Egypt with the Royal Engineers in World War II.

Madin was a significant figure of post-war Birmingham architecture. Madin's work has been much neglected and was not highly regarded by the early-21st century political leadership within Birmingham. Clive Dutton, the city's former Director of Planning and Regeneration, described Madin's Central Library as a "concrete monstrosity" (Madin's original plans were for the building to be clad in marble; the city, however, was unwilling to foot the bill so a concrete finish was used instead).[3] A replacement, the Library of Birmingham, was opened on 3 September 2013 in Centenary Square, which resulted in the previous building being demolished, starting in early 2015.[4]

John Madin Design Group was also responsible for the early designs for Dawley New Town, which later became Telford. During the 1970s, Madin became increasingly involved in master-planning projects in the Middle East.

Societies such as the 20th Century Society campaigned to have some of his buildings listed and English Heritage twice recommended the former Library should be listed, but this attempt was unsuccessful.[5] The two Madin designed buildings to gain listed status are Juniper Hill in Lapworth, Warwickshire, a residential property designed and built between 1957 and 1959 and designated at Grade II on 29 October 2013; and St James's House, Frederick Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, erected in 1954–1957 and one of a group of postwar office buildings designated by English Heritage in January 2015.[6]

Madin died in hospital in Southampton on 8 January 2012.[7]

Works

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Main article: List of John Madin buildings

Notable buildings

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References

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  1. ^ "Tributes pour in for Birmingham's brutalist architect John Madin". Birmingham Post. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Clawley, Alan (17 March 2011). John Madin. Twentieth Century Architects. RIBA Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85946-367-3.
  3. ^ Ancell, Heidi (19 October 2007). "Birmingham reveals new library plans". Building Design.
  4. ^ Brown, Graeme (5 January 2015). "Goodbye to Birmingham Central Library as Paradise Circus work starts". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  5. ^ "John Madin". The Daily Telegraph. London. 12 January 2012.
  6. ^ Knapton, Sarah (28 January 2015). "Concrete office blocks given Grade 2 listing by English Heritage". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  7. ^ "John Madin dies". Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Demolition to start on Madin's Powergen building". 7 March 2017.
  9. ^ Brown, Graeme (18 November 2015). "New images show NatWest Tower demolition progress". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
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