Madin was born in
Moseley, Birmingham, on 23 March 1924. He served in
Egypt with the
Royal Engineers in
World War II. Madin was a significant figure of post-war Birmingham architecture. Madin's work has been much neglected and was not highly regarded by the early-21st century political leadership within Birmingham. Clive Dutton, the city's former Director of Planning and Regeneration, described Madin's
Central Library as a "concrete monstrosity" (Madin's original plans were for the building to be clad in marble; the city, however, was unwilling to foot the bill so a concrete finish was used instead). A replacement, the
Library of Birmingham, was opened on 3 September 2013 in
Centenary Square and the previous building was demolished, starting in early 2015. John Madin Design Group was also responsible for the early designs for
Dawley New Town, which later became
Telford. During the 1970s, Madin became increasingly involved in master-planning projects in the Middle East. Societies such as the
20th Century Society campaigned to have some of his buildings
listed and English Heritage twice recommended the former Library should be listed, but this attempt was unsuccessful. The two Madin designed buildings to gain listed status are Juniper Hill in
Lapworth, Warwickshire, a residential property designed and built between 1957 and 1959 and designated at Grade II on 29 October 2013; and St James's House, Frederick Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, erected in 1954–1957 and one of a group of postwar office buildings designated by English Heritage in January 2015. Madin died in hospital in
Southampton on 8 January 2012. ==Works==