The Arc in Architecture | Ben Waddington

GUIDED WALK

Sat 7 Sept | 10am | 100 mins SOLD OUT

Tue 10 Sept | 1pm | 100 mins

£7

Meet: Chinese Pagoda, Holloway Circus, Birmingham B1 1EG

The most iconic buildings that characterise Birmingham’s skyline are arciform: most notably the simple cylinder of the Rotunda and in more recent years, the sumptuous curves of the Selfridges building and the ‘ode to the circle’ of the Library of Birmingham. The tradition goes back much further, when Birmingham was at its most industrial and functional.

While researching and writing 111 Places in Birmingham that you Shouldn't Miss, author Ben Waddington realised just how frequently rotund and curvaceous forms appear throughout the city. These may appear iconically as with the Rotunda and the Roundhouse, or more subtly as seen in the Library of Birmingham and the under-threat Smallbrook Ringway. This 100-minute guided walk is an exploration and celebration of 'the arc' as it appears in Birmingham buildings through time, visiting a selection of city centre buildings to explore, understand and enjoy their form while they still stand.

This event is the shorter version of the 180-minute walk Raiders of the Lost Arc, which takes place on Friday 13th September at 12pm.