Observation Towers // Ben Waddington

Sun 28 May // 1pm // 120 mins

Meet: Outside St Philips, Cathedral Square, Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2QB

Perhaps Birmingham’s two most famous towers are the Tolkien-inspiring Edgbaston Waterworks chimney and the nearby Perrott’s Folly. Researching 111 revealed many more skyscrapers, turrets, pagodas, belvederes, stupas, domes, obelisks, kiosks and gazebos punctuating the city’s skyline. Observation Towers is a reflection on these structures, the complex language of their features and functions, and a short history of their creation. What does it mean to add a tower to your building? Have crenellations ever been functional in Birmingham? This tour merely touches on this intriguing subject, with plenty more discoveries to be made by the urban explorer with lofty ambitions.