PALESTINE ARCHITECT WINS CONTEST TO ERECTSLUMLESS BIRMINGHAM

Shannon News, 7 August 1928, Page 4

PALESTINE ARCHITECT WINS CONTEST TO ERECTSLUMLESS BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM.

Birmingham is planning an entire reconstruction of the centre of the city, he-sweeping away, of'acres of slums, iri.d the building of a magnificent civic centre.

In order to. obtain the best possible eheme for this work the municipal luthorities asked for plans from archiivc.ts all over the world, and the winner of a well-organised competition has 'ceentJ-y been announced as Maximilian Romanoff.

jFrom the international point oC view, this competition and the result s-of exceptional interest. Mr. Roman>Jf is a son of Jewish parents born at Vilna in Lithuania, Ins father being at . >ne tune a'build'ng' contractor. The boy studied architecture in Moscow ■iml *Petrograd, and was n student of town planning in Austria and Germany.

Eventually he settled in Palestine, where he has been engaged on town planning schemes for Mount Scopus and Mount Cannel. Mr. Romanoff is himself an internationalist in outlook, and speaks Hebrew, Russian and German fluently. He can also speak and write a little Finnish and Arabic, can' print his plans in English and is working hard at French.

Before entering for the Birmingham competition, Mr. Romanoff had to make a specially close study of English building by laws. Altogether he took two months in preliminary work, three months in preparing . the rough sketches, and two weeks over the finished drawings.