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British Lands Birmingham Debut
Published on 10-10-2007 by Skyscrapernews.com
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Today saw the unveiling of British Land's first major city centre office development outside the capital at the heart of Birmingham.
Purchased by British Land last year, the site of the vacant National Westminster House located at 103 Colmore Row is to be the home of Birmingham's first official "Skyscraper" and could herald a new era for the Birmingham office sector.
At a cost of £160 million and designed by the prestigious Hamilton Architects, the 26 storey tower is proposed to rise to a height of approximately 137m with a spire taking the final height to 163m, making the tower one of the tallest within the city. Within will be 27,000 square metres of grade A office space.
It features a stepped top similar in style to Heron Tower, an almost under construction building in the City of London and a shape providing different views depending on the aspect of the observer.
As one would expect from one of the largest and most successful office developers in the country, this tower is of a quality unlike anything else in the city - and likely any other regional city. Being a building scale and standard you would expect to find at the heart of the historic City of London or on the edge of the burgeoning Canary Wharf, the tower sets a new bench mark for the city of Birmingham.
Designed to a standard of that expected by some of the continents richest companies, the development is not to be targeted at expanding or relocating companies which already exist within the city, but instead at attract new international companies into to Birmingham.
Ticking all the boxes an international headquarter could want, including the highest specification, the most central and accessible location right at the heart of the city's financial core, and being of a design above and beyond any other commercial development in the city, 103 Colmore Row has the potential to turn and elevate the fortunes of the city of Birmingham and its standing in the ever competitive market place.
This cannot be said for the site as it stands today. The vacant 23 storey National Westminster House built at the peak of the 1960's concrete modernist building boom is in a state of dereliction, and ever since it closed its doors less than 10 years ago, has fallen into a state of disrepair.
Loved by some for its brutal concrete design, others for its unique profile and for being the only building of its stepped back design in the country, after failed attempts by some to get the building listed, general consensus has resulted in many within the city wanting to see it replaced.
Located on one of the highest development plots within the city centre, often thought to be the reason the site was chosen for a high-rise building in the first place, the site is one of the most visible within the city. As well as this, the site is the only vacant plot within the city's Colmore Row Conservation Area that is not adjoining either a locally or nationally listed building.
However, regardless of the economic and financial benefits this development could bring to the city, it is for this reason this proposal will not pass through the planning process unhindered.
Conservation groups have long campaigned for the City Council to reject plans for a high-rise replacement to National Westminster House with others being shocked by its scale and style lead to such phrases as "out of context" and "too visible" being uttered by the more conservative and traditional passers by.
Notwithstanding this, although the character and nature of our city's historic areas need to be protected, many fail to realise the fact that the nature and character of the Colmore Row area has for the best part of the last 50 years existed well without being adversely affected by the presence of National Westminster House, once Birmingham's largest office complex and still one of the city's tallest building.
As well as this, the prime location of the site means that only the most generous philanthropist would be able to fund the development of a "lower" rise building on such a valuable site that would "fit in" with the context of the surrounding 6-8 storey Georgian, Victorian and Gothic style buildings.
The reality of the situation is that Birmingham still has a chronic shortage of A1 grade office space of the specification required by large multinational companies which stands to have severe implications on the future of Birmingham, most suitably exemplified by announcements of companies like the BBC and Bank of New York choosing to relocate in Manchester over Birmingham.
Supported by research carried out by property experts Knight Frank as recent as last month which state that Birmingham is still trailing far behind its competitors in terms of the office sector, British Land have seen their opportunity and acted accordingly.
They have proposed a tower which exceeds the quality and design of any office development existing, approved or proposed for the city and it should be noted British Land have moved out of their comfort zone of the bustling heart of the capital to provide us with such a scheme.
Birmingham's growing skyline marks the signs of ever increasing confidence within the city at times when the economy is not as strong as it used to be, and British Lands latest proposal marks the next piece of the puzzle to fit into the cities development (being it acting as a focal point to the cities growing skyline or adding to the increase mix of uses within the city).
This tower has the potential to push Birmingham ahead of its competitors in attracting the next big relocation deal, all the city and its residents need to do is trust that they are in the safe hands of some of the best developers and architects in the country and the fact that they are willing to invest within the city is testament to Birmingham's increasing popularity in terms of attracting outside investment.
The fundamentals question is however, will Birmingham harness the forward thinking, high achieving, proactive and ambitious approach currently adopted by its northern competitors by supporting and working with British Land, or will the self deprecating, low confidence and reactive approach described by the city's Parkinson Report prevail again with Birmingham looking back in year to come at what could have been?
A planning application is due in the next 2 months with demolition as early as January 2008 and possible construction as early as the summer of 2008 depending on market conditions.
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Published on 10-10-2007 by Skyscrapernews.com
View in Google Maps
Today saw the unveiling of British Land's first major city centre office development outside the capital at the heart of Birmingham.
Purchased by British Land last year, the site of the vacant National Westminster House located at 103 Colmore Row is to be the home of Birmingham's first official "Skyscraper" and could herald a new era for the Birmingham office sector.
At a cost of £160 million and designed by the prestigious Hamilton Architects, the 26 storey tower is proposed to rise to a height of approximately 137m with a spire taking the final height to 163m, making the tower one of the tallest within the city. Within will be 27,000 square metres of grade A office space.
It features a stepped top similar in style to Heron Tower, an almost under construction building in the City of London and a shape providing different views depending on the aspect of the observer.
As one would expect from one of the largest and most successful office developers in the country, this tower is of a quality unlike anything else in the city - and likely any other regional city. Being a building scale and standard you would expect to find at the heart of the historic City of London or on the edge of the burgeoning Canary Wharf, the tower sets a new bench mark for the city of Birmingham.
Designed to a standard of that expected by some of the continents richest companies, the development is not to be targeted at expanding or relocating companies which already exist within the city, but instead at attract new international companies into to Birmingham.
Ticking all the boxes an international headquarter could want, including the highest specification, the most central and accessible location right at the heart of the city's financial core, and being of a design above and beyond any other commercial development in the city, 103 Colmore Row has the potential to turn and elevate the fortunes of the city of Birmingham and its standing in the ever competitive market place.
This cannot be said for the site as it stands today. The vacant 23 storey National Westminster House built at the peak of the 1960's concrete modernist building boom is in a state of dereliction, and ever since it closed its doors less than 10 years ago, has fallen into a state of disrepair.
Loved by some for its brutal concrete design, others for its unique profile and for being the only building of its stepped back design in the country, after failed attempts by some to get the building listed, general consensus has resulted in many within the city wanting to see it replaced.
Located on one of the highest development plots within the city centre, often thought to be the reason the site was chosen for a high-rise building in the first place, the site is one of the most visible within the city. As well as this, the site is the only vacant plot within the city's Colmore Row Conservation Area that is not adjoining either a locally or nationally listed building.
However, regardless of the economic and financial benefits this development could bring to the city, it is for this reason this proposal will not pass through the planning process unhindered.
Conservation groups have long campaigned for the City Council to reject plans for a high-rise replacement to National Westminster House with others being shocked by its scale and style lead to such phrases as "out of context" and "too visible" being uttered by the more conservative and traditional passers by.
Notwithstanding this, although the character and nature of our city's historic areas need to be protected, many fail to realise the fact that the nature and character of the Colmore Row area has for the best part of the last 50 years existed well without being adversely affected by the presence of National Westminster House, once Birmingham's largest office complex and still one of the city's tallest building.
As well as this, the prime location of the site means that only the most generous philanthropist would be able to fund the development of a "lower" rise building on such a valuable site that would "fit in" with the context of the surrounding 6-8 storey Georgian, Victorian and Gothic style buildings.
The reality of the situation is that Birmingham still has a chronic shortage of A1 grade office space of the specification required by large multinational companies which stands to have severe implications on the future of Birmingham, most suitably exemplified by announcements of companies like the BBC and Bank of New York choosing to relocate in Manchester over Birmingham.
Supported by research carried out by property experts Knight Frank as recent as last month which state that Birmingham is still trailing far behind its competitors in terms of the office sector, British Land have seen their opportunity and acted accordingly.
They have proposed a tower which exceeds the quality and design of any office development existing, approved or proposed for the city and it should be noted British Land have moved out of their comfort zone of the bustling heart of the capital to provide us with such a scheme.
Birmingham's growing skyline marks the signs of ever increasing confidence within the city at times when the economy is not as strong as it used to be, and British Lands latest proposal marks the next piece of the puzzle to fit into the cities development (being it acting as a focal point to the cities growing skyline or adding to the increase mix of uses within the city).
This tower has the potential to push Birmingham ahead of its competitors in attracting the next big relocation deal, all the city and its residents need to do is trust that they are in the safe hands of some of the best developers and architects in the country and the fact that they are willing to invest within the city is testament to Birmingham's increasing popularity in terms of attracting outside investment.
The fundamentals question is however, will Birmingham harness the forward thinking, high achieving, proactive and ambitious approach currently adopted by its northern competitors by supporting and working with British Land, or will the self deprecating, low confidence and reactive approach described by the city's Parkinson Report prevail again with Birmingham looking back in year to come at what could have been?
A planning application is due in the next 2 months with demolition as early as January 2008 and possible construction as early as the summer of 2008 depending on market conditions.
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