“John’s vision of a modern city is expressed through the striking legacy of buildings, ideas and concepts that resonate with us today. They are the measure of a truly remarkable, skilful and visionary man.”

Bob Ghosh of Birmingham-based K4 Architects said without Mr Madin’s legacy many of the good things in modern Birmingham would not have happened.

He said: “Madin was a serious architect, who understood form, space and material, unlike many of his contemporaries.

“Due to the pace of change in our city, many of Madin’s buildings have now disappeared.

“Some should have been retained, most notably the Post & Mail building and plaza, which had more than a subtle reference to Mies van der Rohe.

“Had he ultimately realised the ambition of building the inverted ziggurat form of the Birmingham Central Library in shimmering white stone, then perhaps it would have been listed, rather than being condemned as another example of concrete brutalism.”

Speaking to the Architect’s Journal, Mr Ghosh added: “The more I see of Mecanoo’s new replacement Library of Birmingham, with its highly stylised form and its frivolous envelope, I can’t help questioning whether we’re doing the right thing.

“Nevertheless, we did need a new library for the 21st century and Argent and Glenn Howells will replace Madin’s building with something of extraordinary quality and address the dysfunctional spaces around it.”

►MORE: John Madin obituary by Alan Clawley