The Barber Institute at Birmingham University

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Built between 1935 and 1939, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at Birmingham University was designed by Robert Atkinson, with sculptural work by George Atkinson. The building was extended to the north-west in the 1960s and again in the 1980s.

The structure employs brick with steel beams supporting a concrete floor. The exterior is faced in Himley brick and Darley Dale stone, with a glass roof covering added in the 1980s.

The original building is roughly square in plan, with a music auditorium at its centre and rooms and galleries organised around it on each level. The building is characterised by contrasting materials: the basement and ground floors are dressed ashlar stone, while the upper storey is brick. Windows throughout are metal-framed casements. The lower floors have windows lighting the rooms within, while the brick upper facades are blind where they conceal the originally top-lit gallery spaces.

Four carved panels at first floor level, positioned on the west and east facades (one each) and the south facade (two), display carved motifs of a laurel branch, palm leaf, torch and lyre, symbolising the arts, merit, education and music. Continuous stringcourses run around the building between ground and first floors, and again beneath the continuous parapet. The parapet features recessed square panels with plain surfaces and filleted bands between them. Where these panels align with the carved first-floor panels below, the detailing includes sections of Greek key motif in Art Deco style.

The principal eastern elevation serves as the entrance front, facing across the open space where an adjacent statue of King George I stands. The main entrance is housed in a monumental square arch at the northern end, approached by a wide flight of steps. The steps are flanked by large stone platforms supporting stone vases with carved chevron detailing. The tall entrance doors, recessed within the arch, feature sections of square panels with central roundels and secondary glazed doors with glazing bars repeating the Art Deco Greek key motif. Above the entrance, gold lettering reads 'UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM BARBER INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS A D MCMXXXV'. The arch is flanked by carved panels bearing coats of arms. At the upper floor, the brickwork is laid in a herringbone pattern with different brick shades highlighting the chevrons.

At the south-eastern corner, a curved carved panel wraps around the corner itself, bearing the gold inscription 'BARBER INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS'. The southern elevation features a bowed central projection marking the lecture theatre within. The western rear side contains the students' entrance, rear service yard, and a bowed projection of the main stair. The northern side has continuous windows at ground floor level; first-floor windows originally lighting the tapestry gallery are now infilled. This section is slightly recessed between small towers rising above the parapet. The 1960s extension at the north-western corner follows much the same style as the original.

The main entrance opens into a long hall with the principal stair closing the vista at the far end. The floor is Travertine, as are the door surrounds and stair. This hall is side-lit by full-height windows, opposite which are the main doors to the central auditorium. A commemorative plaque beneath a portrait of Lady Barber sits between these doors.

The auditorium doors are Australian walnut with satin inlaid maple repeating the Greek key motif. The auditorium itself seats 364 people and is panelled throughout in Australian walnut with crescent festoons around the upper levels. The ceiling steps up, echoing the floor rake, towards the stage, with panels of coffered squares. The proscenium repeats the panelling and Greek key motif. The seating is original, though recovered.

Ground-floor corridors retain original linoleum flooring and oak door surrounds. Bathroom facilities retain original wall and floor coverings. Offices and teaching rooms occupy this level, along with the lecture theatre and library, both retaining original bespoke furniture and fittings by Gordon Russell.

The basement contains additional offices and what originally was the caretakers' flat. Music practice rooms have baize doors. This level is accessed via a secondary stair with simple metal handrail.

The first-floor gallery spaces are approached via the main stair, which begins with a wide flight filling the entrance hall's width, then narrows as it rises, incorporating a turn-table supporting a sculpture. The stair sweeps in a curve to the first floor with Travertine-clad walls, with another sculpture-supporting turntable at the top.

The galleries are arranged around the auditorium with wedge-shaped display spaces in the three original galleries. These feature oak flooring laid in a herringbone pattern in central areas, with further oak to low dados, doors and wide surrounds at openings between galleries. These openings have bands of Travertine. Ceilings are flat along the central section and rise above each 'wedge' where they were originally top-lit. The original tapestry gallery has been altered to provide additional space for hanging paintings.