Raiders of the Lost Arc | Ben Waddington

GUIDED WALK

Fri 13 Sept | 12pm | 200 mins

£9

Meet: Strathallan Hotel, 225 Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 9RY

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 200-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.

Several key locations that couldn't be included in the shorter version of this walk The Arc in Architecture, which takes place on Saturday 7th September at 10 am and on Tue 10 September at 1pm, have here been carefully been restored. A short intermission for rest and refreshments will be incorporated into the route.