Munrow
Sports Centre, University of Birmingham, UK
Architect
|
Chamberlain, Powell &
Bon
|
Date Built
|
1962
|
Location
|
Edgbaston Campus
|
Description
|
As you can see from these images, when I
visited the campus the Munrow was closed and
presumably awaiting demolition.
Chamberlain, Powell and Bon were commissioned to
design a sports centre for the university in
1958. The "Edgbaston Central Campus
Development - Hybrid Planning Application"
document, dated March 2012, explains that the
brief for the sports centre was to include, "...
a sports hall, two large and small gymnasia,
an indoor ice-rink, squash-courts, a
swimming pool with diving platforms, an
administration and health centre, six
outdoor tennis courts and a boat-house
(adjacent to the canal). The centrepiece of
the building was to have been the swimming
pool, raised on piloti and with an
extraordinary organic roof constructed of
sprayed concrete."
Construction got underway in 1961 and by 1966
the first phase of the development was
complete. This comprised, "... a
large sports hall, a small gymnasia, a large
gymnasium and associated changing rooms.
.... but
escalating costs coupled with a shortage
of building materials, the introduction of
a Government moratorium on university
building projects, and a massive rise in
the rate of inflation, led to the
abandonment of the original design. Both
the swimming pool (1976) and squash courts
(1978) were erected by Walter Holme &
Sons (described at the time as a ‘Package
Deal Contractor’), using standardised
components."
In November 2017, the
Munrow sits abandoned and awaiting its
fate. A new Sport and Fitness Centre
opened on May 22, 2017, located on the edge of
the campus at the junction os Edgbaston Park
Road and Bristol Road. Its website says
that it includes, "... the city’s first
50m pool, as well as an extensive
state-of-the-art gym; five activity
studios for classes; a squash court
complex; a large multi-sports arena; a
climbing wall and much more."
 |
|
