Birmingham's Selfridges building has come third in the top ten British landmarks to photograph, after Big Ben and the London Eye, read the full article here and see the full top ten..(nice one Brum!) :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4762807.stm

Hope to see the Cube on that list in a few years time :)

Fantastic news for Brum and the Bull Ring, drove past in late Tuesday as it was being cleaned, it does look magnificent.

well thank god its finally being cleaned there are quite a few discs that have also been dented

now it is good news.. but how in the world can they actually know how many photograph a building gets ??

Did Fuji film go around checking the CCTV footages ? :nuts:

All these surveys are very funny

I think the survey looked into which buildings people would prefer to photograph rather than which buildings have been photographed.
I.e. if all the buildings were lined up and you only had one frame left on your film/memory card, which would you choose to snap (and no, you can't delete old pictures off your memory card - that would be cheating).

It doesn't metion in the article who took part in the survey. It would mean two different things if it was the general public or professional photographers.

It was an odd list though ..... think the researchers only visited London, Birmingham & Liverpool!!

Seeing as it's been gloriously sunny I couldn't resist adding to the statistics :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT017008062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT016508062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT016408062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT016308062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT016108062006.jpg

Overkill, maybe but who cares

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT016008062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT0159.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015808062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015608062006.jpg

:cheers:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015408062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015308062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015208062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015108062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT001208062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT001108062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT001008062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT000908062006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT016408062006.jpg

]

Great photos.Even Orion gets a look in too.

Hey, I am from brazil and I'm visiting Birmingham in two weeks from now. I cant wait to visit Selfridges building.I've seen so many photos and it is the one recognisable building I want to be photographed next too. It could be good to have some more tips of what I need badly to see in the midlands. The canals, the history and of course the football....I'm going to the Aston Villa vs Reading game, btw. :cheer:

Moluska

Hope you enjoy Birmingham, sad to hear you're watching Aston Villa though!

Let us know if we can help recommend any activities for you....

Hey Moluska! There are loads of buildings you can see cus its not just the Selfridges building that looks stunning. Holloway Circus Tower is beautiful and so are the smaller buildings old and new! Just dont come in by train to New Street Station, it doesn't give a good first impression.

Enjoy the Villa game too.

Hey Moluska well done for choosing Villa lol. Yep, as I'm sure everyone else will agree there's plenty to see and do in the Birmingham area and enjoying a drink along the regenerated canal area is something all visitors to the city must experience....Selfridges is definitely a must see too of course :)

The restoration work done on St Martins is something that quite often is overlooked or at least not mentioned on these forums. I think it cost around the £1,000,000 mark but is probably best spent million in the city I can think of. On this close up is there some very old graffiti on show here?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%205/PICT015408062006.jpg

Great photos.Even Orion gets a look in too.

Well, no photograph is perfect...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a366/robinsonworld/HPIM0240.jpg

That's a fantastic photo Stephen though I think you just fell lucky, you were really trying to capture that young lady on the opposite pavement :)

That's what I ment by no photo being perfect, I forgot to zoom in!

[Alan Partridge]No I'm joking of course, Stalking is a quite serious crimal offence[/Alan Partridge]

The canals, the history and of course the football....I'm going to the Aston Villa vs Reading game, btw. :cheer:


remember to bring a gas mask!!!!

....I'm going to the Aston Villa vs Reading game, btw. :cheer:

hmm, a Brazilian wanting to watch Villa. Tell me this is a wind up ;)

Someone pinch me please !!

....I'm going to the Aston Villa vs Reading game, btw. :cheer:

Just so you know mate...Thats called a relegation battle! :cheers:

hammerb24: heeey, i d like to have more of these activities tips.
and i really support aston villla. not joking lol

erebus555: i definitely want to see the Holloway Circus Tower.
Thank you! and okay, no new street station for me.

smiley: your photos are pretty good. thanks for you tips,
i am sure i will enjoy my aston villa game. lol ;) :cheer:

concerned potato: a gas mask?
well, i live in a city with "canals" too.
i think i know what u mean. lol

fusionist: whats wrong with a brazilian wanting to watch a villas game????? :dunno: ;)

royal blue: i am used to relegation battles in brazil.
it can be cool if i understood what you meant lol

**
thanks for all the comments. :)

Hi Moluska

You will have a great time in Birmingham. The Council House, Beetham Tower (HCT), Selfridges are all nice buildings, there is lots of other cool buildings too. Check out the Art Gallery and Museum in Victoria Square. If you want shopping head to the Bullring or the Mailbox. There are lots of pubs and bars in Birmingham, a nice place to drink is at the back of the mailbox next to the canal. If you walk futher along the canal here you come to an old canalside pub called the Tap and Spile that's worth checking out.
Ps. Where are you staying?

Hi Moluska

It might not be your bag, but Birmingham has some of the best high Victorian neo gothic architecture in the world, the best of the bunch is the School of Art by the council house

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Max_Groove/155552719_398ec2cb5a.jpg

the Ikon Gallery at Brindley Place and the Victoria Law Courts

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Max_Groove/SH101210.jpg

Moluska, be sure to check out Edmund Street, Newhall Street, Cornwall Street which are basically all connected if you like Victorian architecture such as the above. Many are protected and listed so they wont be disappearing before you get there.

Hi Moluska

It might not be your bag, but Birmingham has some of the best high Victorian neo gothic architecture in the world, the best of the bunch is the School of Art by the council house

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Max_Groove/155552719_398ec2cb5a.jpg

the Ikon Gallery at Brindley Place and the Victoria Law Courts

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Max_Groove/SH101210.jpg

This is just fantastic!!! I wont forget to check these buildings out! thank you very much.

Where Moluska is coming from. I think?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos_%28S%C3%A3o_Paulo%29

Where Moluska is coming from. I think?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos_%28S%C3%A3o_Paulo%29

yes, brummie nick i live in Santos, São Paulo, the capital of the "crooked" buildings or Pelés football team city. And answereing your other question, i will stay in Walsall. :)

Moluska, be sure to check out Edmund Street, Newhall Street, Cornwall Street which are basically all connected if you like Victorian architecture such as the above. Many are protected and listed so they wont be disappearing before you get there.


Erebus555 : Edmund Street, Newhall Street, Cornwall Street , I wont forget it. I was just checking the list of listed buildings in Birmingham and i am sure that i am going to visit the most part of them.

In Brazil some old or historical buildings sometimes arent preserved. A pity. Some of historical ones in Santos, for example, were disappearing or abandoned. The center of the city has being restored now. Anyway, will be cool to be in a city that culture, architecture and history are still preserved. :cheers:

If only that was the case moulska. Birmingham is well known for how much it knocked down in the post war period. It doesn't have as much Victorian stuff left as somewhere like Manchester nor are the buildings on the whole as large and grand but the quality of the remaining ones on very high IMO.

Have a look at the "old Birmingham" thread for some of the mistakes made.

Check out the new Churchill advert, has Selfridges on. :)

Check out the new Churchill advert, has Selfridges on. :)

The one where the women has a really dodgy Brummie accent ie. she's an actress attempting to do a hammed up Brummie accent which sounds ridiculous.

And I hate that Halifax advert, I've heard that bloke talking when he was on the Office Christmas special, and obviouly his Birmingham Accent dosn't sound like the Buuurr_mmingggHHAm accent that fits the stereotype, so they got some home counties Scum in to put it on.

That bloke is from Sheldon by Yardley. I met him soona fter he did his first advert at his Halifax branch. He's the real deal!!! :D

But it's not him on the Animated adverts, or is it?

I'm not sure who's doing the voiceover on the animated ones.

Nah, it's some cockney twat.

Wankers

I'm not sure who's doing the voiceover on the animated ones.


from wikpediea:-

a Halifax bank advertisement featuring Howard Brown, a Birmingham employee, was replaced by an animated version with an exaggerated comical accent overdubbed by a Cockney actor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brummie_accent

Thats a bummer. They cant trust a real Brummie accent can they.

I don't get it, why can't they just use genuine Brummie actors (is there some sort of shortage or something) it really winds me up. Howard has a normal Brummie accent but when they changed the advert to the animated version the accent was hideous (apparntley Howards accent wasn't Brummie enough so they used a Cockney actor instead, MAKES SENSE!!!). It wasn't even a hammed up Brummie accent but a non existent accent, which sounded half welsh and half black country.
No other city would put up with this crap. The stereotypical Brummie accent to the rest of the country is in effect not even a reality. I have a Brummie accent but when I work in London people just say I'm Northern or from the Midlands no one can pin point my accent to Brum. When I tell them I'm a Brummie their amazed and say "you haven't got or Brummie accent" or start saying "Buuuurmingam, oooo BUUUUUURMINGHAM" over and over as if they have fu**king terrets. It fu**ing pisses me right off.

Thank you nick, spot on! That article was good too. I'd never heard "you've got a face as long as livery street" before, consider it added to my vocab.

I used to live in Liverpool and found that exactly the same vocal stereotyping goes on with them, and found that the majority of the protagonists tended to be south eastern wankers who's only experience of real Brummies/Scousers were through Harry Enfield.

And Mark bloody Williams and his career based on a shite Brummie accent can f**k right off.

What do they want from a Brummie accent!? That women on the Churchill advert sounds more like a bloke than a woman which really makes all brummie ladies sound like they've smoking fags since they were 5. But then its OK cus they made a London bloke look gay like that Derek bloke off Big Bro.
The Brummie accents come from the people running the market stalls at the BullRing markets in town. They have had so much access to Brummie accents over the years that they are basically the finest Brummie accent speakers int he whole country. I got a decent Brummie accent but I'll probably be frowned upon and dismissed by Churchill or Halifax for not being Brummie enough.
The people doing these adverts dont have an idea what a real brummie accent is like if they dismiss these people. They just pull in voice actors and tell them to do it in a way they feel is right. They are just inventing a brand new accent which sounds like a that Northern woman who had a stroke and got her accent changed to Jamaican. If I ever work for an advertising agency, I will not let them bring in an actor to do an accent he or her has to put on.

I've never heard anyone in real life who talks like Howard off the animated adverts.

Or Carl Chinn, thinking about it.

It seems that our accent/dialect is like our city - some reckon they've got us pinned down, relying on the stereotypical preconceptions they have about the place and its people - but, when they get to know us, they find out that the whole thing is not as straight forward as their ignorant prejudices would have them believe. If people want to exist believing in this imaginary construction of the world then I say let 'em.
For all the rest, come and see what a fantastic part of the world the West Midlands is - dialect, history, future, architecture, people - it's those folks I don't mind returning the favour to.

As ever, be patient Brummies, conversion is always a painful process.

Selfs is nice and clean too at the mo. I took these on Friday night. One guy had a brush the other a hose and they must have been there for hours!

http://i2.************/23h95yc.jpg

http://i1.************/23h96rs.jpg

When I tell them I'm a Brummie their amazed and say "you haven't got or Brummie accent" or start saying "Buuuurmingam, oooo BUUUUUURMINGHAM" over and over as if they have fu**king terrets. It fu**ing pisses me right off.

I don't understand people when this happens. I've had it all over the country... Scotland, Bristol, Manc, London......

"So where you from"
"I'm from Birmingham"
"Oh, buuuuuuuuurmingham eh? BUUUUUUUURRRRMiiingAM?"

Erm, no. Birmingham. Fucking retard. If the accent was that obvous you wouldn'tneed to ask where I was from would you?!?!

You either get that, or they say it like 'burm'num'. My dad's passed his irriation at that pronounciation down to me, I think. There's a certain forumer pronounces it like that, if I recall correctly, bless 'im :)

They all seem to say it and laugh, as if they're the first person to say it, too. Funny.

It seems that our accent/dialect is like our city - some reckon they've got us pinned down, relying on the stereotypical preconceptions they have about the place and its people - but, when they get to know us, they find out that the whole thing is not as straight forward as their ignorant prejudices would have them believe. If people want to exist believing in this imaginary construction of the world then I say let 'em.
For all the rest, come and see what a fantastic part of the world the West Midlands is - dialect, history, future, architecture, people - it's those folks I don't mind returning the favour to.

As ever, be patient Brummies, conversion is always a painful process.

Well, as Adrian Chiles (he of Working Lunch and now football pundit fame) says: the Brummie accent is an advantage. People assume you are slow, therefore Brummies have the element of surprise (and he works in the business field!).

In industry, people are wary of trying to get one over Brummies - we have a long history of entrepreneurial spirit and innovation.

We have the largest concentration of grammar schools in the country.

We are the best performing education department for a large city.

Really it is only people with low self-esteem, insecurity or lack of intellect that criticise places they have never been to or learned about. And they place themselves at risk because their misjudgement ALWAYS comes back to bite them :happy:

Really it is only people with low self-esteem, insecurity or lack of intellect that criticise places they have never been to or learned about. And they place themselves at risk because their misjudgement ALWAYS comes back to bite them :happy:

I don't think it's necessarily to do with a lack of intellect/self esteem why people criticise or joke about Brummies, it's just a combination of people trying to be funny and pure ignorance.

I have a good sense of humour and I think having a good sense of humour is a Brummie trait (we're very good at taking the piss out of ourselves), but when people think it's hysterical to say "BUUUUUUUUUUURmingham ooooo" over and over that's not fu**ing funny it's just plain ignorant. Last time somebody said that to me when I was working in Newcastle I just started saying back to them "Waaaaaayiiiiiii Man WAYYIIIIIIIIIIIII" and they just looked at me as though I was simple.

People don't know what to say when you say you from Brum because they don't know anything about the place so they revert to the "Buuuuuuuurmingham" thing to cover up therir own ignorance.

I find, epecially in London as soon as people know your from Birmingham they start to talk down to you, this one woman I work with in London speak to me really loudly and slowly (she thinks she's been kind) as if I'm
either deaf or dense.

I read an article about a working class women from Birmingham (Chemsley Wood infact) who has lived in London for 12 years, in a middle class environment. I love one of her comments:-

"the sort of place where I lived you wouldn't be invited round to someone's house for tea, you'd be invited round to watch them eat their tea"


Here's another interesting article if you haven't seen it before:-

http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/brummie/?view=print

I

You either get that, or they say it like 'burm'num'. My dad's passed his irriation at that pronounciation down to me, I think. There's a certain forumer pronounces it like that, if I recall correctly, bless 'im :)

Given the number of southerners in this sub forum I suspect I'm not the only one (I do say the "i2 btw. Ive yet to hear a football commentator pronounce the g. Still I say Har born rather than harbun and born ville rather than bornvul both against my instincts.

I saw an episode of Location location location in Brum and they mispronounced the name of every area they mentioned save Moseley.

Thanks for the pics btw Foxy - I bet that was quite entrancing watching them at work! :)

The same for people from Dudley ....... DUDDDDLAYYY!

http://i1.************/23ixedk.jpg

Certainly was and I got some strange looks too :)

I've also found the further North I go, the more I get asked if i'm a cockney. I tell them I'm from a town halfway between London and France which tends to piss on their fire.

I think you've all scared our Brazilian friend Moluska off with our weird Lingo....don't quite know what she'll make of the Birmingham and Black Country accents!
I love your photos of a freshly scrubbed Selfridges Foxtrot.

Looks like they are getting Selfridges ready for Moluskas photos. He did say he was excited to have a picture of him next to it.

The same for people from Dudley ....... DUDDDDLAYYY!

Well they do talk funny there.

:jk:

Looks like they are getting Selfridges ready for Moluskas photos. He did say he was excited to have a picture of him next to it.

He is a she, and she's looking forward to meeting a few Birmingham forumers....can I smell a meet up?

Sorry, I didnt realise Moluska was a she. Shame, I would like to meet her but I'm gunna be living it large in none other than FRANKFURT :carrot:

I've experienced all kinds of nonsense from people outside of Brum over the place and accent, usually goes... "oh you haven't got the awful accent then" I just laugh, and explain the Brummie accent that they think of hardly exists in reality, or if they catch me on a bad day I will imitate their own accent in a really stereotypical way, that usually shuts people up... make sure they're not bigger than you first though. I have actually had several blazing arguments with people about the accent, they screw their faces up like bosted arses with a hatred and god knows where this comes from and why? Mostly though people mock with affection, I really don't mind. I only have to hear my uncles Alf and Ted chat amongst themselve's to feel proud of who I am and where I've come from, the great dry style of humour, they both took part in the D-day landings and have some great story's to tell. Anyway...

It P.O.s me when people say Birmin'ham as well Spoony on Radio 5 Live says it all the time. My accent sucks, its kind of a cross between rural countryside (think Hagrid from Harry Potter) Brummie, Black Country and Home counties (stereotypical British accent) but it twangs between them so that every so often a word or phrase comes out in accent that doesn't sound quite right, the most common culprits are words with a U as the main vowel like run, bus or much.

I taught English in China for a while, and periodically I would ask my students to repeat something I said, and found them repeating it back to me in a brummie accent, funny old world eh!

3rd top British landmark to photograph? Only because its so ugly that you have to take a snapshot or else no one will believe you! Hate that building. I guarantee you that in 25 years they'll be pulling that thing down to replace it with yet another "modern" peice of crap. Keep things contemporary, timeless, modern yet sophisticated. The new Selfridges is embarassing!

What an idiot ^^

Everyone's entitled to their opinion VH though I hope Mr Burbanks other two posts are as constructive and well written as that one :happy:

Everyone's entitled to their opinion VH though I hope Mr Burbanks other two posts are as constructive and well written as that one :happy:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Though how can someone gurantee that a new building is going to be demolished within 25 years? It's highly unrealistic.

Anyway, we should look at this fools negative post positively. A total retard from San Francisco knows about Selfridges meaning it is a worldwide icon.

I was talking to a member of staff in Selfridges about the exterior when it first opened.

Apparently, it has been designed in such a way that the exterior can be completey removed and replaced without having to close the store.

Makes sense as they can keep the building up to date with current fasions without a costly re-build if it's needed.

Although, I would say that any attempt to re-clad Selfies in future may meet with a lot of resistance!!

I used to getht e bus every morning when it was being built and it went right infront of the building each time and basically its a curved wall and then at that time, they can open the store. Basically after getting the curved wall, they just piled on the concrete to make the bulges. I remember them putting the bridge up. It caused chaos on the roads for about 3 hours.

I am a bit of a precious brummie and generally hate any critisism from people not from here, (see general toys out of pram response to that fool from London on the shopopolis thread), but I genuinely dont see what there is to hate about the selfridges building, it truly unique and fantastic.

The reason I attribute the 3rd most photographed building, is its such a photographic a recognisable building, there is no other building in the world, where from any angle in any light and any weather it always looks pristine, there is also no other building in the world where you could take a phote of one square metre of the facade and know exactly what it it.

^^I had a go at someone on the UAE forums for saying there was nothing special about the Bullring... I know exactly what you mean.

3rd top British landmark to photograph? Only because its so ugly that you have to take a snapshot or else no one will believe you! Hate that building. I guarantee you that in 25 years they'll be pulling that thing down to replace it with yet another "modern" peice of crap. Keep things contemporary, timeless, modern yet sophisticated. The new Selfridges is embarassing!

Embarrassing for whom?? By the way, I had an interesting time in your city (San Francisco) a couple of years ago. I was so excited about visiting the place for the first time, and to be honest, it was nothing special.

I have never seen so many tramps pushing their belongings around in rusty old shopping trollies in all my life! It was appalling!! As for the Cannery & waterfront areas of the city, Blackpool here in England is more up-market by a long, long way too!

San Francisco is one of the USA's leading city tourist destinations ..... your city is dirty, crime ridden, full of a lot of undesireable people, over-priced & over-rated ........ now THAT is " embarassing"!!!!!

One side of my hotel was facing the "ghetto" area full of tramps and weird hospital runaways in electric wheelchairs, wizzing around with oxygen tanks on the back. The other side was the nice scenic part looking at the city chopping centre, the terminating point of the trams and all the restuarants etc. It's only when you go off the beaten track that you get to see the true San Fran.

One side of my hotel was facing the "ghetto" area full of tramps and weird hospital runaways in electric wheelchairs, wizzing around with oxygen tanks on the back. The other side was the nice scenic part looking at the city chopping centre, the terminating point of the trams and all the restuarants etc. It's only when you go off the beaten track that you get to see the true San Fran.

I know, we were very disappointed. As we approached the city by car from Los Angeles, we were in full voice singing the likes of; "Do you know the way to San Jose", "I left my heart in San Francisco", etc,etc ..... and as we approached the city, the singing started to peter out .... it was quite depressing coming in on the freeway, a bit like the Aston Expressway in to Birmingham (not that the Aston Expressway in to Birmingham is depressing, it's just that we expected a lot, lot more from San Francisco!).

Our hotel was in the centre off Union Square, & we were told by the hotel staff as we were checking in, not to go to the blocks behind the hotel after dark, as there is generally a murder on most nights there.

The city downtown shopping area reminded me of a cross between Birmingham & Manchester, but the streets around this area were awful .... we felt quite unsafe even in daylight.

Our first few nights were spent in Chicago, which is what spoilt us I think, because Chicago is a truly wonderful city. Yes, it must have it's problems like anywhere else, but it was clean, classy & actually felt very safe.

Having said what I've said though about San Francisco, we realised as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to the Napa Valley, that the beauty of the city is not the city itself, it's the setting that it is in. It is a very ordinary city, in an absolutely stunning position, as anyone will tell you as you look back at the place from the Golden Gate Bridge.

My hotel was just at the bottom of the hill from Union Square. Nice place that part is. The piers area reminded me of a Blackpool in development. The skyline looks nice from Alcatraz island (thats if the sea spray doesnt blur it out).

When we went from Las Vegas to NY, we stopped off in Chicago, and I am really regretting not spending a few nights there.

Chicago is fantastic, I much prefered it to New York, & one of the memories that will stay with me forever, is being on a boat on Lake Michigan at sunset on a hot August evening, with the Sears Tower & John Hancock Building towering above the city .... stunning.

One of the memories sticking with me for ever is standing on top of the Empire State Building during a thunderstorm.

Let's not slate SF - whilst I disagree with tylerburbank on the grandest of scales, he or she didn't have a pop at Brum, just expressed a dislike for the modern organic style of architecture Selfridges adopted.

And San Fran is a very architecturally-rich city :)

Embarrassing for whom?? By the way, I had an interesting time in your city (San Francisco) a couple of years ago. I was so excited about visiting the place for the first time, and to be honest, it was nothing special.

I have never seen so many tramps pushing their belongings around in rusty old shopping trollies in all my life! It was appalling!! As for the Cannery & waterfront areas of the city, Blackpool here in England is more up-market by a long, long way too!

San Francisco is one of the USA's leading city tourist destinations ..... your city is dirty, crime ridden, full of a lot of undesireable people, over-priced & over-rated ........ now THAT is " embarassing"!!!!!
Cant dissagree more,I have stayed in San fran and thought it was a fantastic city.Of course it has its edgy areas all big dynamic cities have these.Most of the mainstream areas are safe by US city standards. Infact we walked from the Northbeach area to the hotel at Fishermans Wharfe late one night and felt completey safe. The waterfront is a great area to , I went for early morning runs along the bayfront mingling in with the local joggers and rollerskaters,great vibe down there and great views of the bay and the scrapers. I could live there if it were not for the risk of earthquakes.

The waterfront is the most tourism orientated part of the city. It is also very expensive there which might explain why you didnt get any problems.

Let's not slate SF - whilst I disagree with tylerburbank on the grandest of scales, he or she didn't have a pop at Brum, just expressed a dislike for the modern organic style of architecture Selfridges adopted.

And San Fran is a very architecturally-rich city :)

Seems our tylerburbank has deep admirations for the Manc Beetham Hilton and all things Manc judging by his numerous enthusiaistic posts on the Manchester Forum mmmmmm.... San Francisco?

CRIMSONARCH, welcome to the forum, even if you have been a registered user since March. :weird:

Tylerburbank is a weird one. He (probably a dude) was slagging off the glorious Selfridges building because it's too modern, then days later was declaring his love for Manchesters Beetham Tower.

its earybird

Beetham isnt exactly a modern design though. Box buildings have been around since Ug. Conversation about Hilton Beetham Manchester ends here before this thread loses purpose.

Anyone but Earlybird....

its earybird

The language made me think so too, but I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Soon get him banned if he goes trolling though ;)

Who was/is Earlybird?

it was quite depressing coming in on the freeway, a bit like the Aston Expressway in to Birmingham (not that the Aston Expressway in to Birmingham is depressing


the 33 bus route going alongside it is probably the most soul-destroying journey ever

Who was/is Earlybird?

A guy from the Manc forum who was such a pain in the arse he was dis-owned by his fellow Mancunians.

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Gorgeous shots Elizabeth.

Has anyone noticed the dead pine tree by the coffee shop, I wish they would replace it as it looks so unsightly. Usually in developments developers are responsible for replacing within 3 years of being built so they should at least have done something about it by now.

Its just so damn beautiful, It definitely reminds me of snakeskin, shimmery, smooth and beautifully curved.

Seems our tylerburbank has deep admirations for the Manc Beetham Hilton and all things Manc judging by his numerous enthusiaistic posts on the Manchester Forum mmmmmm.... San Francisco?


I agree. I'm that sad, that I checked out the San Francisco Skyscraper City forums, & his name is nowhere to be seen .... odd that don't you think??!!

Its just so damn beautiful, It definitely reminds me of snakeskin, shimmery, smooth and beautifully curved.

I took a friend to see Selfridges (for the first time) this week and her reaction was "Why?" :dunno: Personally I like the exterior, the shape and cladding, and I like both sets of elevators inside, but there's no relationship between the exterior and interior, between the form and function, so while it may be a good building, and raise the profile of Bham, it's an awful piece of architecture, imho.

this thread is becoming very useful to me! i'm currently doing my masters dissertation on iconic architecture and selfridges is becoming my main case study. it's amazing how this building polarises opinion...

This quote is from architecture critic jay merrick...

"Selfridges is barely architecture, because it's a shell. Once you get inside, apart from one or two elegant escalators, there's nothing in there that can be discussed as architecture."

The second is from Hugh Pearman...

"Whether you regard the building as an exotic toadstool, a sequined boob tube, or an alien spacecraft is immaterial. This is already the new Birmingham. There is no building like it anywhere else in the world. It is clever in the way it exploits the need of a department store to be a windowless black box, ingenious in the way it turns the corner and commands its vistas"

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Does anybody know where i can find a picture of bullring model prior to the redesign of selfridges...you know the one where it looks like a standard building?

Thanks

You've got to remember Selfridges is a shop, like any other. We've got to thank our lucky stars we didn't end up with a building that had an external structure that looked like an identikit Matalan store, or even worse, a building that was clad in battleship grey sheets like the new TK Maxx store next to New Street Station at the other end of the Bullring!

For a shop, it is pretty impressive ..... I don't recall many posts on this web site referring to the new Debenhams store in the Bullring!

Hey! The TK Maxx cladding is pretty good IMO - keeps with the identity of the existing building, and as it is not too large it works well.

But yeah - Selfridges :drool:

my only gripe with this building will ever be the blue rubber flooring outside front entrance and the way it doesn't integrate at all onto the rest of the bullring buildings.

Let's face it Bio, if the Selfridges Birmingham design had been built in Manchester, & we'd got their Trafford Centre effort (yuk), we'd be pretty peeved, and we'd be discussing as to why Manchester seemed to be getting all the cutting edge architechture, like the Imperial War Museum North & the Lowry to name but 2 Northern examples.

Yes, Selfridges Birmingham is not everyones cup of tea, but at least it get's people talking, and when was the last time you saw Japanese, Italian & Spanish tourists in Birmingham taking photographs of a Birmingham structure before it was built in 2003??

Hey! Less of the lip!! That is a drool, not a puke!!!!!

I LOVE Selfridges, so take it back ;)

I do agree with EK though - the floor of the balcony bit is poor, and the junction with the rest of the shopping centre isn't great. But the building is fab :cool:

I think it would be in Selfridges interest to relay a more practical flooring, other than that the interior is superb as well and you get the feel of being in an exciting place never mind the shops, so much going on..

Let's face it Bio, if the Selfridges Birmingham design had been built in Manchester, & we'd got their Trafford Centre effort (yuk), we'd be pretty peeved, and we'd be discussing as to why Manchester seemed to be getting all the cutting edge architechture, like the Imperial War Museum North & the Lowry to name but 2 Northern examples.

Yes, Selfridges Birmingham is not everyones cup of tea, but at least it get's people talking, and when was the last time you saw Japanese, Italian & Spanish tourists in Birmingham taking photographs of a Birmingham structure before it was built in 2003??

There's a picture of the pretend Roundrels, the printed sheets thingy they put up when building it on the Inside of the Four Tet's Album Rounds.

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Sorry it's not one of my own shots, but I think the interior of Selfridges is great, especially the main central escalator areas.