Welcome to cardboard city
A brand new city has been built – right in the heart of Birmingham! Unfortunately for anyone looking to move in, it will only remain intact during this weekend before it is entirely taken down again. Happily, construction costs for the metropolis were kept very much on the low side after it was built using only recycled materials. In fact, the 3D city, which has been erected inside Moor Street Station in the centre of Birmingham, has been built out of old wood and card.
The architects and developers behind the ambitious scheme are all pupils from Chandos Primary School in Highgate. The Cityscape project, which formed part of local Architecture Week, also involved visual artist Lorna Rose, Creative Partnerships Birmingham, and performers from The Other Way Works. Pupils from Chandos, who built the city at school before it was taken to Moor Street, were also asked to come up with different uses for the various buildings.
Jane Packman, co-artistic director for The Other Way Works, which specialises in performing drama in unusual places, said: “We were working from the ideas that the children created for the buildings. One youngster suggested a jail, someone else a robot house and another pupil a home for ants.”
The ideas were turned into visual stories which will be performed at the station today. The 3D city will still be on show tomorrow. Architecture Week is an Arts Council England led initiative.
Birmingham Mail, Saturday 23 June 07