Architect John Madin In 1965 BBC Documentary

The Architechnophilia blog points us to a fascinating (and aging) documentary about the Brutalist architect John Madin who was a post-war architect in the English city of Birmingham (which had been heavily bombed in World War II). Filmed by the BBC in 1965 it covers the rise of his success and his work on urban planning.

At the beginning of the film, Madin talks about the task that urban planners and architects face in a way that could be applicable to the challenge we face in many cities today:

We are producing an environment in which people are going to live for the next 100 years and this affects lives of people. And I think any architect feels that they are not worthy of creating this environment which is so important to everybody. Bit what you do is do the best you can at the time and ensure that you put every possible effort into creating these right environments. But there is a feeling of [in]adequacy because of the vastness of the problem – particularly in recreating urban areas and designing an enivornment for people to live in like a new town.

John Madin on Wikipedia