It is both an art gallery and a community center, and an attempt by the authorities of a former industrial center near Birmingham to breathe new life into the city. Therefore, the significant in size building The Public stands in the very center of the city, not far from the cathedral. It is a rectangular volume lined with almost black metal panels with windows of different sizes - "jelly sweets" (Olsop comparison) in bright pink frames.
In general, the spaces and parts of this building cannot be described in ordinary terms, and it is necessary to use the names suggested by the architect himself. So, the correct prism of the building is broken by two protruding outward volumes sheathed with shiny zinc sheets called "Cobblestone" and "Sock". Inside their walls sloping at different angles are exhibition halls.
On the ground floor of The Public, there is a “covered plaza” with a café and space for socializing the townspeople. From there, a 250-meter ramp leads to the upper, fourth floor, connecting galleries (most of them interactive) and "water lily leaves" - offices for local creative industries. All these interior elements of the center do not touch the walls and ceiling of the building, as they are suspended on trusses and ropes to the supporting structure.
Will Alsop considers this gallery to be his best work, which most clearly expressed his creative credo: architecture is more than construction, it should be interesting, funny, cheer people up, and not just fulfill the functions assigned to it.
West Bromwich is in dire need of such a construction: after all, before the opening of The Public, there was not even a good cinema or a bookstore to attract even non-tourists to the city - just residents of neighboring villages and towns.
Despite the fact that due to financial difficulties, the construction of the gallery was suspended for several years, and it was no longer completed by Alsop himself, but by another architectural bureau, it is quite capable of becoming a magnet for visitors, at least from all counties of England. Hoping for the success of this extraordinary building, the municipal authorities are already planning to build next to it new residential buildings, a shopping and entertainment center and other institutions that are essential for a modern thriving city. Their optimism is understandable, especially if we compare the brightness of The Public with a similar function (and hopes placed on it) new construction in Middlesbrough - a city with a similar fate.
