Central Library, Birmingham (must see)

The Brutalist Central Library of Birmingham is no more. The building was brought down and replaced by the new Library of Birmingham. The inverted Ziggurat of the Central Library ended its 41-year career as it began. Some cheered, some were horrified by its looks. The Central was never truly accepted by the city.

The Central was designed by architect John Madin in the Brutalist style. It was part of an ambitious project of the City Council to build a civic center on the new Inner Ring Road. The Library replaced by the Central of John Madin was designed by John Henry Chamberlain. Chamberlain's building opened in 1883. It was demolished in 1974.

All hail the Library of Birmingham. Architectural design is by Francine Houben. Structural Engineering is by Buro Happold. The new Library has been described as the largest regional library in Europe. The library nestles between and connects to the Birmingham Rep and Baskerville House at Centenary Square.

The Shakespeare Memorial Room, designed by John Chamberlain in 1882 has been reincarnated with each demolition. It has been carefully dismantled and reassembled three times. It is constructed in a Lombardic Renaissance style with a clerestoried reading area. The collection houses 43,000 books, including the First Folio of 1623.

The library was opened in September, 2013 by Malala Youafzai, who was savagely attacked by the Taliban for attending school. She said, "Let us not forget that even one book, one pen, one teacher can change the world."