It's been a long time since I was blown away by entering a building, but our arrival at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth caught me on the hop. We wandered through decaying industrial street, with the first signs of the sort of art and creative business that lead the regeneration charge into such areas, and passed through an unprepossessing door. And the view above is what greeted us.
One of the attendees at the event described it as an "an oasis in the desert". I'd go with that.
It is lovely - I never tire of coming in here. I;d question the desert bit though. I love the industrial stuff that makes Digbeth unique. Few cities this size have a working, manufacturing area like this still so close to its city centre. It is its own oasis in an increasingly corporate ciyscape.
You know the area better than I. :-)
That was just first impressions - it looked like the run-down post-industrial areas you see in most UK cities, but it appears that appearances can be deceptive.
I have an office there - just opposite the room where we held Be2camp. We use the room above for social media surgeries with community groups:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lloyd-davis/3635492959/
and even better we all get together in reception once a week on for a cup of tea, cake, sandwiches and yack.