Dear Editor, It is early days, but I note with dismay the growing carbuncle that is the Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square.

The building has yet to be completed, so I will reserve final judgment, but it is already clear that its sheer size overshadows and overpowers its near neighbours to an unnecessary degree, especially the early 20th century architecture of Baskerville House and the Hall of Memory.

It is too late to do much about it, but maybe lessons can be learnt. High rise ‘statement’ architecture does not have to be the future. We will never compete with the mega cities of North America or the Middle and Far East, and nor should we have to.

London is busy constructing its own blot on the landscape in the form of The Shard on the south bank of the Thames. That city, too, appears to have an inferiority complex, as if a lack of tall buildings translates into lack of ambition.

I am sure some low rise modesty and sympathetic design from our architects and planners would be appreciated by many. That would mean architects empathising with the public need rather than trying to impress and outdo each other. It would also mean our planners and councillors taking a tougher and more thoughtful line in what can and can’t be demolished and built.

This city of Birmingham has already lost far too many great buildings, not least the original Birmingham Reference Library in the 1970s, a moment of madness that galls to this day.

J Jones

Birmingham city centre