The
Big Peg is a large rectangular sugar cube that crashed to the ground as
a meteorite in the 1960's. Well, it might as well have. It is unlikely
to win any awards for its styling. This box is as ugly as it gets
but it is a landmark building and a very special one at that.
Birmingham
City Council ripped up the nice terraced houses that were in the way
and built this massive 100,000 square foot complex as a flatted factory
for displaced jewellers and businesses.
These
days you would never get away with such a brutal act in the middle of
what is effectively now a conservation area. Needless to say the scheme
failed and the building was an embarassment for years.
Enter Bennie Gray, a forward thinking founder of SPACE
Organisation. I would urge anyone remotely interested in the history of
Birmingham to take a look at how the Space Organisation turned around
the fortunes of the Big Peg and the Custard Factory.
The
Big Peg gets it's name from what was a type of bench supplied to
craftsmen of which many in the Jewellery Quarter would have owned and
been familiar with. You
can't miss the building. I mean its big. Very big. Just head for the
Clock Tower in the Jewellery Quarter and see if you can spot it.
The
Big Peg has been completely refurbished inside. Despite its outside
appearance it is surprisingly pleasant and spacious on the interior.
There are many studios and offices of all types and sizes. The building
is home to many 'one man bands' and small company operations.
A
combination of private enterprise and government funding has kept this
place alive. The diverse and varied collection of a multitude of
businesses within its walls makes this a very unique place indeed.
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