This striking building was designed by architect J.H. Chamberlain's just before his death and built by his partner William Martin in 1884, opening in 1885.The Building was the first Municipal School of Art. Within the intricate walls, drastic changes in the teaching methods of the art world occurred, there was an emphasis towards Craft-skills with "Art Laboratories" for a wide range of subjects. This was a great emphasis towards advancing the craft world of the Victorian Era.
The stacked, red brick building was Chamberlain's last masterpiece, and is widely considered to be one of his finest. His devotion to John Ruskin notion "Truth to Nature" the idea of nature being the fount of all art,are expressed in his attention to detail and naturalistic motifs that adorn much of the building. These motifs are accurately portrayed and sharply modeled through the use of grey Derbyshire stones, a material that allows the architect to mold nature in all its glory.
The whole exterior is linked together by a continuous thread of tile work and motifs, comprising of rhombuses by the dozens, with lilies and sunflowers faded into the mustard tiles lying against backgrounds of red and blue creating an eye catching explosion of color. A repetition of floral motifs is carefully executed within a quatrefoil. The building gives off a sense of wonder, a reminder of the pleasures that come with creating beautiful things.
The whole exterior is linked together by a continuous thread of tile work and motifs, comprising of rhombuses by the dozens, with lilies and sunflowers faded into the mustard tiles lying against backgrounds of red and blue creating an eye catching explosion of color. A repetition of floral motifs is carefully executed within a quatrefoil. The building gives off a sense of wonder, a reminder of the pleasures that come with creating beautiful things.
The same tile work and motifs that are found on the school's exterior can be found on it's interior, the architects formed a sense of unity within the building by doing so. The intricate tile work runs through out the school in shades of red, black, blue, yellow orange, white: basically the same colors that are found on the exterior.
They designed the main lobby by taking a leaf off the Gothic cathedral, it resembles a shorter version of a church columns, adorned with stone carved lily motifs as seen on the images to the left, they holds up a roof made of glass. This allows ample light to penetrate into the school and the architects used this concept in most of the rooms thus enabling the painters to make the most out of the natural light while they were working.
Another feature that is found around the school is the use of iron, in this case the iron carvers molded stunning floral and geometrical motifs that add a touch of nature all around the school. It is important to note that all the floral motifs, both iron and stone were made to depict nature in every aspect, the designers and architects used Ruskin's concept of true to nature throughout the school.
They designed the main lobby by taking a leaf off the Gothic cathedral, it resembles a shorter version of a church columns, adorned with stone carved lily motifs as seen on the images to the left, they holds up a roof made of glass. This allows ample light to penetrate into the school and the architects used this concept in most of the rooms thus enabling the painters to make the most out of the natural light while they were working.
Another feature that is found around the school is the use of iron, in this case the iron carvers molded stunning floral and geometrical motifs that add a touch of nature all around the school. It is important to note that all the floral motifs, both iron and stone were made to depict nature in every aspect, the designers and architects used Ruskin's concept of true to nature throughout the school.
Little, B. D. G. (1971) Birmingham buildings: The architectural story of a Midland City. United Kingdom: David & Charles PLC
Prior, E. S. (1974) History of gothic art in England. Wakefield: E. P. Publishing
Prior, E. S. (1974) History of gothic art in England. Wakefield: E. P. Publishing