City News

An icon of modern architecture studded with 15,000 anodised aluminiumdisks which glint in sunlight, Birmingham’s jelly-mould Selfridges building is a testament to the imagination of the city’s planning team.

It is now being celebrated in Royal Mail ‘s Modern Architecture stamp set, released to coincide with architecture week on Tuesday, June 20.

The stamps will be launched on June 19 by George Ferguson, a leading architect from the Royal Institute of British Architecture which is promoting Architecture Week (a celebration of the outstanding modern UK buildings created during the past decade). George can talk with knowledge and enthusiasm about the building which literally turns heads.

Also present will be Selfridges general manager Loretta Fraser. She says: "Selfridges Birmingham has become an important part of the skyline in the nearly three years since it opened. It is now a tourist attraction for the city as well as being important to those who travel through and shop here every day."

Adrian Booth, Royal Mail spokesperson adds: “The Selfridges building was a natural choice for inclusion in this stamp set. As soon as it was built it was being hailed as a modern icon a symbol of Birmingham today. It perfectly illustrates how modern public buildings no longer have to be boxes.”

The 1st class stamp features the distinctive shape of 30 St Mary Axe known affectionately by millions of Londoners as the ‘Gherkin’. A welcome addition to London’s skyline, it was designed by Sir Norman Foster, who incorporated energy saving methods that halve power consumption for a building of its size.

Maggie’s Centre in Dundee is seen on the 42p stamp. The centre is the creation of American architect Frank Gehry. The network of Maggie’s centres helps provide emotional and physical support for people living with cancer.

A building entitled Turas, which means a journey in Gaelic on the Isle of Tiree, is the 64p stamp image. The work of Sutherland Hussey, it is actually a modern ferry shelter.

The undulating organic wood and steel form of an innovative gridshell, which houses the Weald and Downland Museum’s open access store near Chichester, is on the 50p stamp.

Sammy’s Point, where the Humber joins the Hull River, is home to The Deep (72p). Designed by Terry Farrell and Partners and billed as ‘the world’s only submarium’, this stunning building is home to thousands of sea creatures, including seven species of shark.