Architecture of Birmingham - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

has existed as a settlement for over 1,000 years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with little surviving from its early history. As it has expanded, it has acquired a variety of architectural style

Architectural style

Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...

s. Buildings of most modern architectural styles

Architecture of the United Kingdom

The Architecture of England refers to the architecture practised in the territory of the present-day country of England, and in the historic Kingdom of England...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

are located in Birmingham. In recent years, Birmingham was one of the first cities to exhibit the blobitecture

Blobitecture

Blobitecture from blob architecture, blobism or blobismus are terms for a movement in architecture in which buildings have an organic, amoeba-shaped, bulging form...

style with the construction of the Selfridges store at the Bullring Shopping Centre.

Birmingham is a young city, having grown rapidly as a result of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

starting in the 18th century. There are very few buildings remaining in Birmingham prior to this. Further loss has been demonstrated through the effects of war and redevelopment, especially following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Industrialisation has also led to buildings being demolished but the prosperity brought with it led to some of the city's grandest buildings being constructed. Industrialisation and the growth of the city led to its boundaries expanding and the city acquired other forms of architecture. As of April 2006, there are 1,946 listed buildings in Birmingham, thirteen scheduled ancient monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

s and 27 conservation area

Conservation area

A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...

s.

Many well-known architects come from Birmingham. From the Victorian era, Yeoville Thomason

Yeoville Thomason

H. R. Yeoville Thomason was an architect in Birmingham, England. He was born in Edinburgh to a Birmingham family. Thomason set up his own practice in Birmingham 1853-1854....

, J. A. Chatwin

J. A. Chatwin

J. A. Chatwin FRIBA, RBS, FSAScot , was a designer of buildings and the most prolific architect involved with the building and modification of churches in Birmingham, England, building or altering many of the parish churches in the city. He used both the Gothic and Classical styles...

and Martin & Chamberlain

Martin & Chamberlain

John Henry Chamberlain, William Martin, and Frederick Martin were architects in Victorian Birmingham, England. Their names are attributed singly or pairs to many red brick and terracotta buildings, particularly 41 of the forty-odd Birmingham board schools made necessary by the Elementary Education...

made a big impact on the city. In the early 20th century, Harry Weedon

Harry Weedon

Harold William "Harry" Weedon was an English architect. Although he designed a large number of buildings during a long career, he is best known for his role overseeing the Art Deco designs of the Odeon Cinemas for Oscar Deutsch in the 1930s...

designed over 300 Odeon cinemas

Odeon Cinemas

Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...

across the country. Hurley Robinson

Archibald Hurley Robinson

Archibald Hurley Robinson F.R.I.B.A., known as Hurley Robinson, was a prolific British architect of cinemas prior to World War II. Following World War II, the demand for new cinemas had diminished and his work focussed more on office buildings...

also designed numerous cinemas around the United Kingdom. William Alexander Harvey

William Alexander Harvey

William Alexander Harvey was an English architect. He is most notable for his design of Bournville, the model 'garden suburb' built by Cadburys to house their chocolate-making workforce to the south of Birmingham....

played a key part in the design and construction of Bournville

Bournville

Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...

. In the postwar period, John Madin

John Madin

John Hardcastle Dalton Madin is an English architect. He was born in Moseley, Birmingham on 23 March 1924. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, were active in Birmingham for over 30 years. Some of the buildings his company designed...

became a prolific architect and more recently, Glenn Howells

Glenn Howells

Glenn Howells is a British born architect. His practice, Glenn Howells Architects, has offices in Birmingham and London. Howells founded his practice in London in 1990 but later moved the main office to Birmingham in 1992....

and Ken Shuttleworth have made their mark on the international stage.

11th-17th centuries

Little survives from Birmingham's early history as Birmingham was a small settlement situated near the River Rea

River Rea

The River Rea is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. The name of the river derives from a root found in many Indo-European languages and means "to run" or "to flow". It frequently bursts its banks after heavy rain....

in Deritend

Deritend

Deritend is an historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.-History:...

. However, there are buildings from around the 15th century that survive in the city. Some exhibit a cruck

Cruck

A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which supports the roof of a building, used particularly in England. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally bent, timber beams that lean inwards and form the ridge of the roof. These posts are then generally secured by a...

timber frame construction whilst buildings that were built later on show the onset of the use of stone and brick as the preferred construction material. There are only seven cruck-framed medieval buildings remaining in Birmingham.

It is believed that Birmingham's origins stem back to a crossing at the River Rea

River Rea

in modern-day Digbeth

Digbeth

Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into...

. In this area, St. Martin's Church

St Martin in the Bull Ring

The church of St Martin in the Bull Ring in Birmingham 5, England is a parish church in the Church of England.-Background:It is the original parish church of Birmingham. It stands between the Bull Ring shopping centre and the markets. The church is a Grade II* listed building. The current Rector...

was constructed in the centre of the Bull Ring and was Birmingham's original parish church. A church has stood on the site since the 12th century. It was extensively rebuilt to a new design by J. A. Chatwin

J. A. Chatwin

in 1873, retaining some original walls and foundations, and inside is an effigy

Effigy

An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...

of Sir William de Bermingham - a medieval lord of the manor

Lord of the Manor

The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...

, dating from 1325, providing one of the few surviving links to Birmingham's medieval past. St Edburgha's Church

St Edburgha's Church, Yardley

St Edburgha's Church is a parish church in the Yardley area of Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building and a part of the Old Yardley conservation area.-History:...

in Yardley

Yardley, Birmingham

Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is John Hemming.-Features:...

dates to the 13th century, and is another relic from this period., there is also St Laurence in Northfield. hhttp://www.achurchnearyou.com/northfield-st-laurence/

The oldest house in Birmingham is the Lad in the Lane
Lad in the Lane
The Lad in the Lane is a public house located in the Bromford area of Erdington in Birmingham, England. Dating to the year 1400, it is considered to be the oldest house and pub in the city, although The Old Crown in Digbeth claims to date from 1368, a date which is yet to be confirmed...

public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

in Bromford

Bromford

Bromford is an industrial area of Birmingham, situated between Ward End and Erdington.- Toponomy :In Old English, "Bromford" means "broom ford", signifying abundance of broom shrubs and a location to cross the River Tame....

, Erdington

Erdington

Erdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

, which dates to 1400 when it was used for residential purposes. Prior to the Lad in the Lane public house being dated, New Shipton Barn in Walmley

Walmley

Walmley is an area of Sutton Coldfield, England. It is in south Sutton Coldfield, near to Minworth, Wylde Green, Erdington and south of Thimble End. It is approximately northeast of Birmingham city centre...

was considered to be the oldest house in Birmingham, being built in 1425. Other surviving black-and-white timber buildings include The Old Crown
The Old Crown, Birmingham
The Old Crown a pub in Deritend, is the oldest extant secular building in Birmingham, England. It is Grade II* listed, and claims to date back to circa 1368, retaining its "black and white" timber frame, although almost all of the present building dates from the early 16th century.-History:It is...

public house

Public house

in Digbeth

Digbeth

which dates to the 15th century, although it is claimed to have existed as early as the 14th century. The Stone public house in Northfield

Northfield, West Midlands

Northfield is a residential area on the southern outskirts of metropolitan Birmingham, England and near the boundary with Worcestershire. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

and Stratford House (1601) in Sparkbrook

Sparkbrook

Sparkbrook is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, England. It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within Birmingham City Council.-Etymology:...

are also other examples of such buildings.
Other buildings from this period include Bournbrook Hall in Bournville

Bournville

, Selly Manor, a Tudor manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

, Minworth

Minworth

Minworth is a village on the outskirts of Birmingham in the West Midlands area of England. It is located near Walmley, Wishaw, Warwickshire, Curdworth, Thimble End and Castle Vale....

Greaves, a medieval hall, the 15th century "Saracen's Head

Saracen's Head

The Saracen's Head is the name usually given to a group of late medieval buildings in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The buildings, together with the nearby Old Grammar School, won the BBC Restoration series in 2004...

" and "Old Grammar School" in Kings Norton

Kings Norton

Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...

, Handsworth

Handsworth, West Midlands

Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...

Old Town Hall, built in 1460; an example of early cruck timber frame construction

Cruck

, and Blakesley Hall

Blakesley Hall

Blakesley Hall is a Tudor hall on Blakesley Road in Yardley, Birmingham, England. It is one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and is a typical example of Tudor architecture with the use of darkened timber and wattle-and-daub infill, with an external lime render which is painted white...

in Yardley

Yardley, Birmingham

, which was built by Richard Smalbroke

Smalbroke family

The Smalbroke family was a powerful family between the early 15th and early 19th centuries, owning large areas of land in Birmingham, England.-15th-16th centuries:...

in 1590.

The 17th century saw the transition from timber frame to brick and stone construction. An early and prominent example of this in Birmingham is Aston Hall

Aston Hall

Aston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...

, which was completed in 1635 for Sir Thomas Holte

Thomas Holte

Sir Thomas Holte, 1st Baronet was the original owner of Aston Hall , the man after whom the Holte End stand of Villa Park is named, and the possessor of quite a legendary temper....

. It was designed by John Thorpe

John Thorpe

John Thorpe or Thorp was an English architect. Little is known of his life, and his work is dubiously inferred, rather than accurately known, from a folio of drawings in the Sir John Soane's Museum, to which Horace Walpole called attention, in 1780, in his Anecdotes of Painting; but how far these...

and features the Jacobean style

Jacobean architecture

The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...

, which was popular amongst large buildings of this type during the 17th century.

Sutton Coldfield

Sutton Coldfield

Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...

began to expand during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries as a result of investment by Bishop Vesey. The architect Sir William Wilson

William Wilson (architect)

Sir William Wilson was an English architect, builder and sculptor.Born in 1641 in Leicester, he was the son of a baker. In his early life, it is believed that he served an apprenticeship with a statuary mason. It is also claimed that he studied under Sir Christopher Wren at Oxford University where...

made his impact on the streetscape in the area as well as other towns and cities throughout the country. As well as designing Four Oaks Hall for Lord Ffolliot

Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott

Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott was the second son of Thomas Folliott of Pirton Court, Pirton, Worcestershire.From about 1594 he served the Crown in Ireland and in 1603 was commissioned to develop a township adjacent to Ballyshannon Castle...

, he also designed Moat House

Moat House, Sutton Coldfield

Moat House is a Grade II* listed building situated in Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It is part of the Anchorage Road conservation area....

for him and his wife. This was completed in 1680. Four Oaks Hall no longer survives, however, Moat House remains untouched with listed building status.

18th-19th centuries

Birmingham began to expand during the 18th century due to the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

and the prosperity that it brought with it. The expansion of the town's industry brought industrialists to the town, and they constructed their own houses as well as modifying existing ones. Communities within Birmingham's boundaries also began to expand, resulting in the construction of houses and public facilities such as churches. Much of the buildings built in the 18th and 19th centuries were designed by local architects who developed reputations throughout the city and were to go on to design more buildings.

As the population of the town increased, attendance at churches increased and this led to the construction of St. Philip's Cathedral, which was built in 1715 as a parish church and designed by Thomas Archer

Thomas Archer

Thomas Archer was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Archer was born at Umberslade Hall in Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire, the youngest son of Thomas Archer, a country gentleman, Parliamentary...

. It is in the heart of the city, with glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones

Edward Burne-Jones

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...

. Another church that was built during the 18th century is St Paul's Church

St Paul's Square, Birmingham

St Paul’s Square, is a Georgian square in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England, named after the church in its centre. It is the last remaining Georgian Square in the city....

which was designed by Roger Eykyns of Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

and completed in 1779, although the tower was built in 1823 to a design by Francis Goodwin

Francis Goodwin

Francis Goodwin was an English architect, best known for his many provincial churches in the Gothic revival style, civic buildings such as the first Manchester Town Hall and Macclesfield town hall , plus country houses such as Lissadell House, County Sligo .Goodwin was born at King's Lynn,...

. Surrounding St Paul's Church is St Paul's Square which is the last remaining Georgian square in the city.

In 1704, the Job Marston Chapel (now the Church of the Ascension

Church of the Ascension, Hall Green

The Church of the Ascension is a Church of England parish church in the Hall Green area of Birmingham, England.-History:...

) in Hall Green

Hall Green

Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

, which is believed to have been designed by Sir William Wilson, was completed. Also in Hall Green is Sarehole Mill

Sarehole Mill

Sarehole Mill is a Grade II listed water mill on the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. It is now run as a museum by the Birmingham City Council. It is one of only two working water mills in Birmingham, with the other being New Hall Mill in Walmley, Sutton Coldfield.Built in 1542 on...

which dates to 1542, although the current structure is thought to have been built in 1771. The building remains today and is Grade II listed. Sarehole Mill and its millers inspired J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

, author of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...

, to create the Hobbit

Hobbit

Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...

miller Ted Sandyman and his mill. In Edgbaston

Edgbaston

Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....

is Edgbaston Hall

Edgbaston Hall

Edgbaston Hall is a country house in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England.Early in the Civil War, Edgbaston Hall, along with Hawkesley House, now the site of a council housing estate in Longbridge, was a stronghold of Colonel John Fox, the so-called "Jovial Tinker"...

, now used by Edgbaston Golf Club, which was built in 1717 by Sir Richard Gough

Gough-Calthorpe family

The Gough-Calthorpe family is descended from ancient and notable families who both held lands in the area around Birmingham, England.Sir Henry Gough, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament, was made a Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1728...

. In 1758, John Perrott built the 29 m (95 ft) high Perrott's Folly

Perrott's Folly

Perrott's Folly, , also known as The Monument, or The Observatory, is a 29-metre tall tower, built in 1758. It is a Grade II* listed building in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England.-History:...

in Ladywood

Ladywood

Ladywood is an inner-city area in Birmingham, England. It is a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Ladywood ward and the wards of Aston, Nechells and Soho. In June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a city-wide "Ward Boundary...

which now stands as a local landmark.

Perry Bridge

Perry Bridge, also known as the Zig Zag Bridge, is a bridge over the River Tame in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England. Built in 1711, it is said to be the oldest surviving structure in Birmingham. It is a scheduled ancient monument and a Grade II listed building.The bridge was built, in the 18th...

, built in 1711 in Perry Barr

Perry Barr

Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...

to replace an earlier bridge, is another example of a structure built during this time. The industrial expansion of Birmingham attracted industrialists to the city and Soho House

Soho House

Soho House , Matthew Boulton's home in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, is now a museum , celebrating his life, his partnership with James Watt and his membership of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. It was designed by Samuel Wyatt and work on the current building began in 1789...

, in Handsworth, completed in 1796 to a design by brothers Samuel Wyatt

Samuel Wyatt

Samuel Wyatt was an English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th and 19th century English architects, his work was primarily in a neoclassical style.-Career:...

and James Wyatt

James Wyatt

James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...

as the home for the wealthy industrialist Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...

, is well-preserved example of what the industrialists constructed for themselves. The Industrial Revolution did not just attract wealthy industrialists to Birmingham. The need to house the many industrial workers who flocked to the city from elsewhere in the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution led to the construction of many streets and terraces of back-to-back houses, some of which were later to become inner-city slum

Slum

A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...

s. Remaining examples of inner-city domestic buildings are located on Kingston Row, which was built around 1780 and modernised by J. A. Maudsley, the City Architect of Birmingham

City Architect of Birmingham

The City Architect of Birmingham was a high-ranking position within the Public Works department of Birmingham City Council and provided the holder with a lot of power in the planning decisions of Birmingham, especially in the post-war period in which Birmingham underwent enormous regeneration...

, in 1969. A later example of back-to-back houses are the Birmingham Back to Backs

Birmingham Back to Backs

The Birmingham Back to Backs at 50–54 Inge Street and 55–63 Hurst Street are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in Birmingham, England, now operated as a museum by the National Trust....

, the last remaining back-to-back houses in the city, which were built in 1830 and recently renovated and turned into a museum run by the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

. Many residential properties dating from around this period are listed buildings.

Attendance at churches still increased and parish churches across the town were commissioned for construction. In 1823, Francis Goodwin

Francis Goodwin

's Holy Trinity Church in Bordesley

Bordesley, West Midlands

Bordesley is an area of Birmingham, England and is part of the City's Nechells Ward.It is served by Bordesley railway station.It should not be confused with nearby Bordesley Green.-Notable residents :...

was completed. The Commissioner's church is of Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

, which was popular during this time.

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

and Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

were also becoming popular in Birmingham during this time and early buildings which used the Neoclassical building style include the Birmingham Proof House

Birmingham Proof House

The Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House was established in 1813 by an act of Parliament at the request—and expense—of the then prosperous Birmingham Gun Trade. Its remit was to provide a testing and certification service for firearms in order to prove their quality of construction, particularly in...

by John Horton which was built in 1813, although Jacobean style gates were added in 1883. The style became predominantly popular in the centre of the town during the 1820s in a variety of building usages, which is reflected in Regency House on Waterloo Street. Although the architect is unknown, they are believed to have been influenced by Sir John Soane

John Soane

Sir John Soane, RA was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources...

. The building features copies of the Corinthian columns used at the Tower of the Winds

Tower of the Winds

The Tower of the Winds, also called horologion , is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower on the Roman agora in Athens. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind vane...

in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

. Domestic buildings also used this style of architecture, such as the houses at 116-120 Moseley Road which were also built during the 1820s. The two houses feature stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

fronts with unusually large bay windows. St Thomas's Church, which was bombed during World War II

World War II

, was built in 1827 and is an example of neoclassical architecture being used in the design of churches in Birmingham. It was designed by Henry Hutchinson

Henry Hutchinson

Henry Hutchinson was an English architect who partnered with Thomas Rickman in December 1821 to form the Rickman and Hutchinson architecture practice, in which he stayed until his death in 1831. Hutchinson was born on October 16, 1800, in Ticknall, Derbyshire. He partnered with Rickman after he...

of Rickman and Hutchinson and features a tower and quadrant Ionic porticoes. The most well-known pre-Victorian example of the use of this style in Birmingham is Birmingham Town Hall

Birmingham Town Hall

Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...

which was designed by Joseph Hansom

Joseph Hansom

Joseph Aloysius Hansom was a prolific English architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style, who invented the Hansom cab and was one of the founders of the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843....

and Edward Welch, and completed in 1834. In 1835, Charles Edge was commissioned to repair weaknesses to the design of the building and was also commissioned for the extension of the building in 1837 and again in 1850. Edge was also responsible for the Market Hall in the Bull Ring which was completed in 1835, as well as many classical shop frontages and office buildings on Bennett's Hill and the surrounding area.

Victorian era

The financial benefits of the Industrial Revolution provided Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

Birmingham with an extensive building programme, with the construction of elaborate churches and public buildings. The use of neoclassical architecture was carried on into this era alongside the use of red brick and terracotta

Architectural terracotta

Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...

, which was pioneered during this period. Red terracotta was useful as a substitute for natural stone, which Birmingham lacked, and it also was resistant to soot and smoke which was prevalent in the city due to the heavy industrial presence. This construction period and general expansion of the urban area led to Birmingham being designated city status

City status in the United Kingdom

City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...

by Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

in 1889. Birmingham also acquired its own council which led to the construction of civic buildings.

Birmingham's importance as a growing town encouraged the construction of municipal buildings which were designed by some of the most prominent architects of the time. Sir Aston Webb

Aston Webb

Sir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century...

and Ingress Bell's

Ingress Bell

Edward Ingress Bell was an English architect of the late 19th and early 20th century, who worked for many years in partnership with the more well-known Sir Aston Webb....

Victoria Law Courts

Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham

The Victoria Law Courts on Corporation Street, Birmingham 4, England is a Grade I listed, red brick and terracotta building that now houses Birmingham Magistrates' Court.-History:...

were completed in 1891 and feature extensive use of terracotta on the exterior. The ornamentation on the exterior, which includes a statue of Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

, is carried on inside the building. Webb was not the only major architect to make an impact on Birmingham. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin designed St. Chad's Cathedral, which was completed in 1841 and granted status as a cathedral in 1850. Pugin's work in Birmingham also includes Erdington Abbey

Erdington Abbey

Erdington Abbey Church on Sutton Road, Erdington, Birmingham, England, is the more usual name of the grade II listed church of Saints Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury. It is the church of a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Birmingham served by the Redemptorists...

(1850), Oscott College (1838), and the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy in Hockley

Hockley, Birmingham

Hockley is a central inner-city district in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies about one mile north-west of the city centre, and is served by the Jewellery Quarter station...

(1845).

Despite major architects making impacts across the country, locally-born or resident architects were the more dominant group in Birmingham. Yeoville Thomason

Yeoville Thomason

H. R. Yeoville Thomason was an architect in Birmingham, England. He was born in Edinburgh to a Birmingham family. Thomason set up his own practice in Birmingham 1853-1854....

, who was born in Edinburgh to a Birmingham family, designed many important buildings with the most significant being the Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...

and the Council House

Council House, Birmingham

Birmingham City Council House in Birmingham, England is the home of Birmingham City Council. It provides office accommodation for both employed council officers, including the Chief Executive, and elected council members, plus the council chamber, Lord Mayor's Suite, committee rooms and a large and...

, which were completed in 1879. His range of designs included the Singers Hill Synagogue

Singers Hill Synagogue

The Birmingham Hebrew Congregation Synagogue is a Grade II* listed building comprising 26, 26A and 26B Blucher Street in central Birmingham, England.Built in 1856, it was designed by Yeoville Thomason...

and a variety of offices for banks, as well as the original Lewis's Department Store, which was completed in 1889 as Birmingham's first concrete and iron building, on Corporation Street. Martin & Chamberlain

Martin & Chamberlain

were prolific architects in Birmingham during the Victorian era, having designed 41 Birmingham board schools

Birmingham board schools

__notoc__The Birmingham board schools were set up very rapidly after the Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 was enacted, covering England and Wales...

. John Henry Chamberlain

John Henry Chamberlain

John Henry Chamberlain , generally known professionally as J H Chamberlain, was a nineteenth century English architect....

, who was not of local descent, was part of Martin & Chamberlain and his works in Birmingham include Highbury Hall

Highbury, Birmingham

Highbury, also known as Highbury Hall, now a Grade II* listed building, was commissioned as his Birmingham residence by Joseph Chamberlain in 1878, two years after he became Member of Parliament for Birmingham. It received its name from the Highbury area of London, where Chamberlain lived as a child...

and Birmingham School of Art

Birmingham School of Art

The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...

, which was completed by his son Frederick Martin following his sudden death in 1883.

J. A. Chatwin

became one of the most prolific architects involved in the construction or alteration of churches in Birmingham. Some of his most significant works include the Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Birmingham Orthodox Cathedral

The Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew is a Greek Orthodox cathedral on Summer Hill Terrace in Birmingham, England, dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew. In Greek: The Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos and Saint Andreas...

in Birmingham, which was completed in 1873, Aston Parish Church in 1879, and St Martin in the Bull Ring

St Martin in the Bull Ring

in 1873. As well as designing churches, he designed the King Edward VI High School for Girls

King Edward VI High School for Girls

King Edward VI High School for Girls is an independent secondary school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham and occupies the same site as, and is twinned with, King Edward's School...

on New Street

New Street, Birmingham

New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...

in 1866 and Bingley Hall

Bingley Hall

Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site....

in 1850. His son P. B. Chatwin

P. B. Chatwin

P. B. Chatwin was an architect in Birmingham, England.From 1866 he worked with his father, architect J. A...

also became an architect, designing King Edward VI Handsworth

King Edward VI Handsworth

King Edward VI Handsworth School is a voluntary aided grammar school for girls aged 11–18 and is located in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. The school was founded in 1883 as King Edwards Aston. In 2001 there were 932 girls on roll,...

in 1911 and St Mary the Virgin, Acocks Green

St Mary the Virgin, Acocks Green

St Mary the Virgin, Acocks Green is a Church of England parish church in Acocks Green, Birmingham, England.-Background:For centuries, Acocks Green was part of the Parish of Yardley, however the population had expanded throughout the 19th century, with the middle classes moving out of the town, and...

Church and Church Hall, Acocks Green

Acocks Green

Acocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...

which opened around 1908.

Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 at Vauxhall station

Duddeston railway station

Duddeston railway station is a railway station serving the Duddeston area of Birmingham. It is situated on the Redditch-Birmingham New Street-Lichfield Cross-City Line, and also on the Walsall line. Services on both lines are usually operated by Class 323 electrical multiple units...

. One year later, Philip Hardwick's

Philip Hardwick

Philip Hardwick was an eminent English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere...

Curzon Street railway station

Curzon Street railway station was a railway station in Birmingham that was used briefly for regular scheduled passenger services between 1838 and 1854 when it acted as the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, with lines connecting Birmingham to London...

opened and it remains as the world's oldest surviving piece of monumental railway architecture. Designed in the neoclassical style, it was built as a copy of the Euston Arch

Euston Arch

The Euston Arch, built in 1837, was the original entrance to Euston station, facing onto Drummond Street, London. The Arch was demolished when the station was rebuilt in the 1960s, but much of the original stone was later located—principally used as fill in the Prescott Channel—and proposals have...

, also by Hardwick, in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The building ceased use as a railway station in 1966 and is disused. Many other railway stations throughout the city were built of red brick and terracotta. The construction of Birmingham Snow Hill station

Birmingham Snow Hill station

Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...

led to the construction of the Great Western Arcade

Great Western Arcade

The Great Western Arcade is a covered Grade II listed Victorian shopping arcade lying between Colmore Row and Temple Row in Birmingham 4, England....

in 1876, which was designed by W. H. Ward.

Wealthy landowners saw business opportunities as a result of the arrival of the railways in Birmingham. One such land owner, Isaac Horton, commissioned Thomson Plevins to design a hotel for Colmore Row

Colmore Row

Colmore Row is a street in the centre of Birmingham, England, running from Victoria Square to just beyond Snow Hill station. It is traditionally the city's most prestigious business address....

. The result was the Grand Hotel which was completed in 1875 in the French Renaissance-style. The hotel was altered and extended in 1876, 1891 and 1895 but is now empty, and was saved from demolition when it was granted Grade II listed status in May 2004. Another Plevins hotel for Isaac Horton is the Midland Hotel (now the Burlington Hotel) on New Street. Horton constructed hotels next to railway stations to maximise trade and made them attractive to visitors decorating them lavishly on the inside as well as on the exterior. Other transport improvements in the town improved the quality of life as well as the provision of commercial space in the town. The cutting of Corporation Street

Corporation Street, Birmingham

Corporation Street is a main shopping street in Birmingham city centre, England.It runs from the law courts at its northern end to the centre of New Street at its southern.- Planning :...

through slums in the city centre began in 1878 and much of the work for designing the buildings that were to line the street was given to Martin & Chamberlain. Numerous buildings, which had leases of 99 years, were demolished in the post-war

Post-war

A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...

period, however, the street has retained many of its fine Victorian buildings above modern ground-floor façades, providing an insight into how the city once looked.

The city has several Victorian green men

Green Man

A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...

(or foliate heads) which consist of unusual human heads, carved of stone with vegetation growing out of their faces. Notable Arts and Crafts

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

buildings include 21 Yateley Road, Edgbaston

Edgbaston

, designed by the architect Herbert Tudor Buckland

Herbert Tudor Buckland

Herbert Tudor Buckland was a British architect, best known for his seminal Arts and Crafts houses , the Elan Valley model village, educational buildings such as the campus of the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk and St Hugh's College in Oxford.-Biography:Buckland was born in...

as his own home, and listed Grade I (neighbouring buildings are also listed, Grade II) and his Walkers Factory, in Digbeth

Digbeth

.

In the late 19th century, James & Lister Lea became prolific designers of public house

Public house

s in Birmingham. They designed The Woodman (1896-7), the Swan and Mitre (1899), The White Swan (1900), The Anchor Inn

Anchor Inn, Birmingham

The Anchor Inn, in Digbeth, Birmingham, England, is one of the oldest public houses in Digbeth, dating back to 1797. The current building was constructed in 1901 to a design by James and Lister Lea for the Holt Brewery Company. The terracotta on the façade is believed to have come from the Hathern...

(1901) and The City Tavern (1901). Many of these pubs are now listed buildings and were built of red brick and terracotta.

On 26 September 2009 The Birmingham Branch of the Victorian Society is launching its book "Birmingham's Victorian Architects" covering 26 architects who defined Victorian Birmingham. As such it will provide a much needed single source of knowledge on this fascinating period of Birmingham's architectural heritage.

1901-1945

The late-Victorian era of red brick and terracotta gave way to coloured glazed terracotta

Glazed architectural terra-cotta

Glazed architectural terra-cotta is a ceramic masonry building material popular in the United States from the late 19th century until the 1930s, and still one of the most common building materials found in U.S. urban environments...

- faïence: examples being the Trocadero

Trocadero, Birmingham

The Trocadero, 17 Temple Street, Birmingham, England, currently a pub, is a dazzling demonstration of the use of coloured glazed tile and terracotta in the post-Victorian era of architecture....

in Temple Street, completed around 1902, and the Piccadilly Arcade, completed in 1909 as a cinema, on New Street. Glazed brick was also used with examples including Moor Street Station

Birmingham Moor Street railway station

Birmingham Moor Street railway station is one of three main railway stations in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The Grade II listed old station building has been partially renovated to its 1930s condition at a cost of £11 million....

(1909–1914). Terracotta still remained in use, for example, in the Methodist Central Hall

Methodist Central Hall, Birmingham

The Methodist Central Hall, 196-224 Corporation Street, Birmingham, England, is a three storey red brick and terracotta Grade II* listed building with a distinctive tower at the northern end of Corporation Street, opposite the Victoria Law Courts...

(1903-4) on Corporation Street. Classical architecture

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

made a return as a preferred choice of architecture during the 1920s and 1930s as well as Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

, which was pioneered during the latter decade.

The original buildings of the University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...

, including its clock tower and The Barber Institute of Fine Arts (opened 1939), and the large Council House

Council House, Birmingham

Extension and bridge housing the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

(1911–1919) are from this period. S.N. Cooke and W.N. Twist's Hall of Memory

Hall of Memory (Birmingham)

The Hall of Memory in Centenary Square, Birmingham, England, designed by S.N. Cooke and W.N. Twist was erected 1922-5, by John Barnsley and Son, to commemorate the 12,320 Birmingham citizens who died in World War I....

(1922–25) and T. Cecil Howitt's Baskerville House

Baskerville House

Baskerville House, previously called the Civic Centre, is a former civic building in Centenary Square, Birmingham, England.-History:The site was originally occupied by the home of John Baskerville. He was buried nearby in the area which was known as Easy Hill...

on Broad Street

Broad Street, Birmingham

Broad Street is a major thoroughfare and popular nightspot in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner Ring Road, Broad Street has been incorporated into...

(1938) were part of a large civic complex scheme designed by William Haywood. The Trinity Road Stand at Aston Villa's

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

Villa Park ground was completed in 1924, and was considered the grandest in the land, complete with stained glass windows, Italian mosaics and sweeping staircase, it was thought of as architect Archibald Leitch's

Archibald Leitch

Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...

masterpiece and was described as "the St Pancras of football" by a Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

reporter in 1960. It was demolished in 2000. The Blue Coat School in Harborne

Harborne

Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...

dates from 1930, the King Edward VI boys'

King Edward's School, Birmingham

King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

and girls'

King Edward VI High School for Girls

schools in Edgbaston from 1840, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is an NHS hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital...

from 1933-8. A distinctive Art Deco

Art Deco

cinema is the Odeon

Odeon Cinemas

in Kingstanding

Kingstanding

Kingstanding is an area in north Birmingham, England. It gives its name to a ward in the Erdington council constituency. Kingstanding ward includes the areas; Perry Common, St. Mary's College, Witton Lakes and parts of Kingstanding, Wyrley Birch and New Oscott...

(1935). Many cinemas were constructed by Oscar Deutsch

Oscar Deutsch

Oscar Deutsch was the founder of the Odeon Cinemas chain in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:Deutsch was born in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England, the son of Leopold Deutsch, a successful Hungarian Jewish scrap metal merchant. After attending King Edward VI Five Ways, he opened his first...

who commissioned Birmingham-born architect Harry Weedon

Harry Weedon

to design many of these cinemas. Weedon's designs also extended to industrial buildings and he designed the Typhoo Tea

Typhoo

Typhoo is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England.-History:In 1863, William Sumner published, A Popular Treatise on Tea as a by-product of the first trade missions to China from London....

factory in Digbeth

Digbeth

in 1936.

Art-Deco architecture became popular in the design of cinemas, however, it was not so widespread in other buildings and its use was very limited in Birmingham. In 1933, the new Kent Street Baths, operated by the Birmingham Baths Committee

Birmingham Baths Committee

The Birmingham Baths Committee was a Birmingham City Council-run organisation responsible for the provision and maintenance of public swimming and bathing facilities within the Birmingham boundaries in England...

, was completed to a design by Hurley Robinson

Archibald Hurley Robinson

. This is one of the first non-cinema buildings in Birmingham to feature this style of architecture. Another prominent building exhibiting this style is the former Times Furbishing Company store on the High Street in Birmingham, now a Waterstone's

Waterstone's

Waterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....

store. The building was completed in 1938 to a design by Burnett and Eprile.

The Bournville Village Trust

Bournville Village Trust

Bournville Village Trust is an organisation that was created to maintain and improve the suburb of Bournville, located in Birmingham. However, during the 20th century it expanded its geographical coverage to include developments in Shenley Green, Lightmoor in Telford, Bloomsbury in Nechells and...

was set up in 1900 to manage the Bournville

Bournville

estate and public buildings growing around Cadbury's

Cadbury Schweppes

Cadbury is a confectionery company owned by Kraft Foods and is the industry's second-largest globally after Mars, Incorporated. Headquartered in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom, the company operates in more than 50 countries worldwide....

in Bournville

Bournville

. Much of the planning was done by William Alexander Harvey

William Alexander Harvey

. In addition, the Birmingham-born architect, Town Planner and Secretary of the Birmingham Civic Society, William Haywood, did much to raise the profile of the improvement of Birmingham in the inter-war years.

The reformed pubs started just after 1900 - large 'family' pubs intended to replace the workers' and drinking men's pubs of the previous century. Such pubs included The Black Horse on the Bristol Road in Northfield which was completed in 1929.

Birmingham's first multi-storey block of flats was built in 1937 on the Bristol Road. The building, called Viceroy Close, was designed by Mitchell and Bridgwater in partnership with Gollins and Smeeton. It also features sculptures by Oliver O'Connor Barrett

Oliver O'Connor Barrett

Oliver O'Connor Barrett was a British sculptor, painter, graphic artist, educator, poet and composer...

. In the same year, the Art Deco "Petersfield Court" in Hall Green

Hall Green

was completed. The building contains 14 flats and consists of large curved corner windows.

Post-World War II architecture

Birmingham's industrial importance in World War II

World War II

led to heavy and destructive bombing raids during the Birmingham Blitz

Birmingham Blitz

The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe of the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, beginning on 9 August 1940 and ending on 23 April 1943...

. This claimed many lives and many buildings too, but the planned destruction that took place in post-war Birmingham was also extensive. At the end of war, Birmingham again began to expand and reached a peak in its population in 1951. This produced a demand for new housing to replace that lost in the bombing raids over Birmingham upon the housing needed to meet the requirements for the growing population. As well as this, the increased use of public facilities encouraged their reconstruction and improvement by the city council.

This public demand for modern buildings, combined with Victorian architectural styles falling out of favour, resulted in dozens of fine Victorian buildings like the intricate glass-roofed Birmingham New Street Station

Birmingham New Street Station

Birmingham New Street is the main railway station serving Birmingham, England, located in the city centre. It is an important hub for the British railway system, being served by a number of important long-distance and cross-country lines, including the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line,...

, and the old Central Library being destroyed in the 1950s and 1960s by the city planners. These planning decisions were to have a profound effect on the image of Birmingham in subsequent decades, with the mix of concrete ring road

Ring road

A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...

s, shopping centres

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

and tower block

Tower block

A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...

s giving Birmingham a 'concrete jungle' tag. The Public Works Department of Birmingham City Council established a city engineer and a city architect position within the department to aid the design and construction of new housing and public facilities in the city. Sir Herbert Manzoni

Herbert Manzoni

Sir Herbert John Baptista Manzoni CBE MICE was a British civil engineer known for holding the position of City Engineer and Surveyor of Birmingham from 1935 until 1963...

was made city engineer of Birmingham and his work included the construction of the Inner Ring Road

A4400 road

The A4400 was a main road in Birmingham, United Kingdom which previously formed a ring around the city centre. Junctions on the road were largely grade separated, with pedestrians kept physically separate from vehicular traffic and most junctions allowing vehicles staying on the road to pass over...

, Middle Ring Road

A4540 road

The A4540 is a Ring Road in Birmingham, England, also known as the Middle Ring Road, or the Middleway. There are proposals to make it a red route. It runs around the centre of the city at a distance of approximately . Birmingham City Centre is the area within this ring road. The ring road was...

and the Outer Ring Road

A4040 road

The A4040 is the Outer Ring Road in Birmingham, England. It is the route followed by the Birmingham Outer Circle bus route. It was formed mainly of redesignated old roads, unlike Birmingham's inner and middle ring road , which were mostly purpose built.Places along the route include:* Perry Barr*...

, which necessitated the purchase and clearance of vast areas of land. As well as this, he designated large areas of land redevelopment areas and set about clearing large areas of slums. Several architects were made the city architect of Birmingham

City Architect of Birmingham

, with the first being Alwyn Sheppard Fidler

Alwyn Sheppard Fidler

Alwyn Gwilyn Sheppard Fidler CBE was a Welsh architect and town planner who was chief architect for the new town of Crawley from 1947 to 1952 and City Architect of Birmingham from 1952 to 1964....

who held the position from 1952 to 1964, when he walked out following disagreements over his design for the Castle Vale

Castle Vale

Castle Vale is a housing estate located near Erdington currently Castle Vale votes with Tyburn Ward which is part of Erdington constituency, northeast of Birmingham city centre in England...

housing estate.

The architecture produced following World War II has been met with mixed reaction. Many of the buildings constructed in this period have since been heavily criticised whilst others have been praised and listed. The past decade has seen the loss of many postwar buildings and more are set to be demolished in the coming years, some controversially such as John Madin's Central Library.

Commercial buildings

Demand for offices had changed since the Victorian era with large office blocks being preferred by companies over small office buildings. Highrise office blocks offering large floorplates were constructed in city centre in the form of basic shapes such as cuboids. 'Big Top' was completed in the late 1950s and became the city's tallest office building and the first shopping centre in Birmingham. This was followed by Laing's nearby Bull Ring Shopping Centre, which included plans for a large cylindrical office tower, in the 1960s. In 1964, The Rotunda

Rotunda (Birmingham)

The Rotunda is an iconic, cylindrical highrise building in Birmingham, England. The Grade II listed building is tall and was completed in 1965. It was refurbished between 2004 and 2008 by Urban Splash with Glenn Howells who turned it into a residential building with serviced apartments on 19th and...

, by James A. Roberts

Jim Roberts (architect)

Jim Roberts is an architect, known for the Rotunda in Birmingham, England, from which he ran James A. Roberts & Associates....

was completed as a separate development to the Bull Ring Shopping Centre, and although the building failed as an office tower, it became a landmark and received Grade II listed status in 2000, before being renovated into apartments by Urban Splash

Urban Splash

Urban Splash is a British company which regenerates decaying industrial warehouses, mills, Victorian terraced houses and other buildings. These buildings have mainly been converted into housing...

between 2006-8. Other postwar office highrises constructed in the city centre include The McLaren Building

The McLaren Building

The McLaren Building is a 69 metre, 21 storey tall office building in Birmingham 4, England. Designed by Philip Bonham Associates and built in 1972, it is a retro thin brown office building. Current tenants include , , Scott Wilson, URS Corporation, UNISON and Birmingham City Council's Eastside...

and Centre City Tower, which were constructed towards the end of the 1960s and in the early 1970s. The tallest office building constructed in Birmingham at the time was Alpha Tower

Alpha Tower

Alpha Tower is a commercial building in Birmingham, England. It was built to a design by George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV and part of the companies' production studio complex known as ATV Centre...

, and it remains so today at 100 metres (328 ft) in height.

Domestic architecture

Slum clearances

Urban renewal

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...

, the increase in the population of Birmingham and the destruction of housing during the Birmingham Blitz led to the council constructing thousands of housing units all over the city. Mostly designed by the City Architect of Birmingham

City Architect of Birmingham

and the Public Works Department at the council, the schemes focussed on high-density housing in low-cost builds.

The immediate need for housing straight after the war was tackled by constructing prefabricated bungalows

Prefabricated buildings

Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of several factory-built components or units that are assembled on-site to complete the unit.- Prefabricated Housing :"Prefabricated" may refer to buildings built in components Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of...

. Initially, the city council resisted constructing them due to the lack of materials and labour. However, the council eventually constructed 2,500 whilst a further 2,000 were constructed on private plots. They were provided initially to those who were displaced by the destruction of their homes. These structures were intended to be temporary, although many lasted longer than they were intended. A row of sixteen listed single storey Phoenix prefabs, built 1945 under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act still exist on Wake Green Road and a 1940s Arcon V prefab was disassembled from Moat Lane in Yardley and transported to Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings is an open-air museum of rescued buildings which have been relocated to its site in Stoke Heath, a district of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. Founded in 1963 and opened in 1967, the museum was conceived following the dismantling of a 15th-century...

in 1981 where it remains on display. Following the provision of these temporary structures, the local authority looked to providing permanent housing units.

In July 1949, the city council approved a plan by the Birmingham COPEC Housing Improvement Society Ltd. to construct twenty flats for single women in Cob Lane. The council had been against flats initially as they had seen them as being unnecessary for their cost. However, as Birmingham's population expanded and the demand for housing increased, the idea of building flats and maisonettes across the city became more popular. Eventually, the city council acknowledged that there was a need for flats and started a programme to provide such properties for Birmingham's citizens.

Starting in the 1950s, a total of 464 tower block

Tower block

A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...

s above six storeys were built in Birmingham, 7% of all the tower blocks constructed in the United Kingdom, with the first Birmingham tower blocks being built in Duddeston

Duddeston

Duddeston is an inner-city area of the Nechells ward of Birmingham, England. It was part of the Birmingham Duddeston constituency until that ceased to exist in 1950.-Etymology:...

, part of the Nechells and Duddeston Redevelopment Area, in the late-1950s. They were designed by S.N. Cooke and Partners and proved to be extremely costly for the city council. In 1960, the Lyndhurst estate in Erdington

Erdington

Erdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

was completed and the entire estate won a Civic Trust award in 1961. The main tower block on the estate, the 16 storey Harlech Tower, became the tallest tower block in the city, although it was later surpassed by many more tower blocks including the 32 storey Sentinels

The Sentinels

The Sentinels are two 90 metre tall residential tower blocks on Holloway Head in Birmingham, England. The two towers, called Clydesdale Tower and Cleveland Tower, are both 31 storeys tall and were part of a major regeneration scheme following World War II which consisted of the construction of...

in the city centre, which were inspired by the Marina City

Marina City

Marina City is a mixed-use residential/commercial building complex occupying an entire city block on State Street in Chicago, Illinois. It lies on the north bank of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, directly across from the Loop district...

complex in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. Stephenson Tower is another city-centre tower block, located on top of New Street Station, although the planned refurbishment of New Street Station will see the demolition of the tower. A group of four tower blocks located behind The Rep Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...

on Broad Street have also undergone an extensive renovation to improve their insulation and appearance.

The largest high-rise housing estate in Britain was constructed at Castle Vale

Castle Vale

Castle Vale is a housing estate located near Erdington currently Castle Vale votes with Tyburn Ward which is part of Erdington constituency, northeast of Birmingham city centre in England...

with 34 tower blocks on the site of Castle Bromwich Aerodrome

Castle Bromwich Aerodrome

Castle Bromwich Aerodrome was an early airfield, situated to the north of Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The site now falls within the City of Birmingham.-History:...

. This became an unpopular area as it began to suffer from social deprivation and crime whilst the buildings were poorly constructed leading to maintenance issues. To tackle the downward spiral of the estate, one of the largest tower block demolition and renovation programmes anywhere in Europe began in Castle Vale, with the construction of new buildings, squares and green public open spaces.

John Madin

and his architecture firm made an impact on city, from the 1960s through to the late-1970s, comparable to that of Martin & Chamberlain in the 19th century. His best known buildings included Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...

in Chamberlain Square. Built in 1974, it quickly became detested by the public for its Brutalist architecture

Brutalist architecture

Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...

and was once described as "looking more like a place for burning books, than keeping them" by Prince Charles

Charles, Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

. Despite this, there have been campaigns launched to get the building listed status in more recent times. Another building by John Madin, received other views from the public. The Post and Mail building

Post and Mail building, Birmingham

The Birmingham Post and Mail building was constructed in the 1960s and was a symbol of the rebuilding of Birmingham, England following the devastation of World War II.- Construction and lifetime :...

was completed in the late 1960s and upon its completion, the tower was hailed as a great achievement by the likes of Douglas Hickman, who worked with John Madin. A lesser known building in the city by John Madin, Metropolitan House

Metropolitan House

Metropolitan House is a commercial building in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the A456 Hagley Road at Five Ways...

, shows the variety of architecture he brought to the city. Metropolitan House exhibited use of other exterior materials other than concrete.

However, as Modernist architecture fell out of favour in the 1980s, proposals for the redevelopment of many of the buildings constructed in Birmingham from the 1960s and 1970s were aired including redevelopment proposals for the Post and Mail Tower (most including the total demolition of the tower). In 2005, demolition work began on the tower and a replacement office block has been constructed in its place. A building of similar architecture, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce on the Hagley Road, still remains, however is under threat from demolition as the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce look for new premises. Also set to be demolished is NatWest House. The proposed demolition of the tower was resisted by conservation groups calling for the building to be listed, however, English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

concluded that there was not sufficient evidence for the tower to be listed. As of 2008, none of John Madin's works in the city have been listed.

Present skyline

Recent developments

Birmingham has witnessed a new period of construction, prompted by the regeneration of Broad Street through Brindleyplace

Brindleyplace

Brindleyplace is a large mixed-use canalside development, in the Westside district of Birmingham, England. It is often written erroneously as Brindley Place, the name of the street around which it is built...

, which began construction in the early 1990s. It features office and other mixed-use buildings designed by separate architects. including the National Sea Life Centre

National Sea Life Centre (Birmingham)

The National Sea Life Centre is an aquarium with over 60 displays of freshwater and marine life in Brindleyplace, Birmingham, England. Its one-million-litre ocean tank houses giant green sea turtles, blacktip reef sharks and tropical reef fish, with a fully transparent underwater tunnel. The...

, designed by Foster and Partners

Foster and Partners

Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....

. Other architects involved in the development of Brindleyplace include Terry Farrell

Terry Farrell (architect)

Sir Terry Farrell, CBE, RIBA, FRSA, FCSD, MRTPI is a British architect.-Life and career:Farrell was born in Sale, Cheshire. As a youth he moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, where he attended St Cuthbert's High School. He graduated with a degree from Newcastle University, followed by a Masters in urban...

, Demetri Porphyrios

Demetri Porphyrios

Demetri Porphyrios is a Greek architect and author who currently practises architecture in London as principal of the firm Porphyrios Associates. In addition to practice and writing, Porphyrios has held a number of teaching positions in the United States, the United Kingdom and Greece. He is...

, Allies and Morrison

Allies and Morrison

Allies and Morrison is a London-based architectural practice founded by Bob Allies and Graham Morrison in 1984. The practice is now headed up by 10 Partners and employs around 210 people in their purpose designed studios at 85 Southwark Street...

and Associated Architects

Associated Architects

thumb|right|Associated Architects' Offices at [[The Mailbox]], Birminghamthumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2009, David Wilson LibraryAssociated Architects is a leading architectural firm based in Birmingham, England. The practice has a broad portfolio of work including arts, commercial offices, housing...

.

Other large-scale projects include the major Bullring Shopping Centre development by The Birmingham Alliance, which replaced the earlier 1960s shopping centre which had fallen out of favour with the public. The new shopping centre was completed in 2004 and was designed by Benoy in partnership with Future Systems

Future Systems

Future Systems was a London-based architectural and design practice, formerly headed by Directors Jan Kaplický and Amanda Levete.Future Systems was founded by Kaplický after working with Denys Lasdun, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and Richard Rogers...

who designed the iconic and award-winning Selfridges

Selfridges

Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...

building which is an irregularly-shaped structure, covered in thousands of reflective discs (see picture) and is a form of blobitecture

Blobitecture

Blobitecture from blob architecture, blobism or blobismus are terms for a movement in architecture in which buildings have an organic, amoeba-shaped, bulging form...

. In Eastside

Eastside, Birmingham

Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...

, the Learning and Leisure Zone has seen the construction of the Eastside campus of Matthew Boulton College, Millennium Point and the New Technology Institute

New Technology Institute

The New Technology Institute, Birmingham is a building, training centre and media studio located in the Learning and Leisure Zone of the Eastside of Birmingham, England....

. Future projects will build upon the educational presence that has been established in the area.

One of the most recent high-rise buildings to be constructed and opened within the city centre itself is Ian Simpson's Holloway Circus Tower

10 Holloway Circus

10 Holloway Circus is a tall mixed-use skyscraper in Birmingham city centre, England. It is named after the developers, Beetham Organization, and was designed by Ian Simpson and built by Laing O'Rourke. When it was completed in 2006, it was estimated to have cost around £72 million to construct...

, which opened in January 2006. When topped out, it became the second tallest building in Birmingham at 122 metres (400 ft), only being beaten by the BT Tower

British Telecom Tower (Birmingham)

The BT Tower is a landmark in Birmingham, England, and is also the tallest building in the city. Its Post Office code was YBMR.-History:...

. This has been prompted by the publication of the city council's "High Places" document which outlined locations along the city centre sandstone ridge that were deemed appropriate for the construction of high rise structures.

Developers Urban Splash

Urban Splash

Urban Splash is a British company which regenerates decaying industrial warehouses, mills, Victorian terraced houses and other buildings. These buildings have mainly been converted into housing...

recently completed the refurbishment of Fort Dunlop

Fort Dunlop

Fort Dunlop , is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers...

and The Rotunda

Rotunda (Birmingham)

and are involved in the redevelopment of the former Cincinnati Lamb factory in Erdington and the future refurbishment of three tower blocks on the Birchfield Road in Perry Barr

Perry Barr

Future developments

Further new projects and redevelopment schemes are planned for the city as part of Birmingham City Council's Big City Plan. Birmingham's renaissance is a result of increased investment in the city and has led to some of the city's most ambitious schemes since the 1960s and 1970s being proposed. Plans include the construction of a new Library of Birmingham

Library of Birmingham

The Library of Birmingham is a new library under construction in the city centre of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square beside the Birmingham Rep and Baskerville House. It replaces the old Birmingham Central Library and will provide pedestrian...

in Centenary Square

Centenary Square

Centenary Square is a public square on Broad Street in central Birmingham, England, named in 1989 in celebration of the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status in 1889....

to replace the Central Library

Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...

in Chamberlain Square

Chamberlain Square

Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England , named after Joseph Chamberlain.Its features include:*Birmingham Central Library*Paradise Forum...

.

Eastside

Eastside, Birmingham

is the latest focus of major developments following the degrading of the Inner Ring Road, which resulted in the demolition of Masshouse Circus. On the site of Masshouse Circus, a mixed-use development named Masshouse

Masshouse

Masshouse is a site within Birmingham, United Kingdom which is under development with the construction of 13 new highrise blocks intended for public services, commerce and residential purposes. When completed, the blocks will have a prominent position on the Eastside skyline.-History:The Masshouse...

has begun construction. Another plot of land made available for construction following the demolition of the elevated road junction is City Park Gate

City Park Gate

City Park Gate is a major mixed use development by Countryside Properties in the Eastside area of Birmingham, England. Designed by MAKE Architects, Associated Architects and Buro Happold, City Park Gate is on a prominent site alongside Moor Street Queensway, Birmingham Moor Street Station and a...

, designed by MAKE Architects

MAKE Architects

Make Architects is an architectural practice based in the United Kingdom founded by Ken Shuttleworth after he left Foster and Partners in 2003. They have offices in London, Birmingham, Beijing, Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the practice is currently engaged in projects worldwide ranging from high rise...

, whose design received outline planning permission in 2007. A large area of land has been cleared to make way for the Curzon Park development, which currently has outline planning permission. Alongside this is a new city park which will run between Curzon Street and Millennium Point. A large regeneration project named Eastside Locks has been proposed for the area and Curzon Gate

Curzon Gate

Curzon Gate is a residential development located on the edge of Birmingham City Centre, England, on a prominent gateway site into the city centre. The land was formerly occupied by Castle Cement silos. The site is located in the Eastside area, which is currently witnessing a large-scale...

is another development currently under construction in the area. In September 2007, a 200 metres (656 ft) vertical theme park or "Vertiplex" by ROC International named VTP200 was unveiled to the public and is yet to be submitted for planning consent.

Developers, the Birmingham Alliance, who were responsible for the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre and Martineau Place

Martineau Place

Martineau Place is a shopping centre located in the city centre of Birmingham, England. It is located on land bounded by High Street, Union Street, Bull Street and Corporation Street and is directly opposite House of Fraser, formerly known as Rackhams....

, have also proposed a new mixed-use development on Corporation Street and Priory Queensway, fronting Old Square, called Martineau Galleries

Martineau Galleries

Martineau Galleries is an important proposed mixed-use development for Birmingham, England as it will connect the Eastside to the city centre core and is also located on the High Street, a major retail area.- Pre-1960s development :...

to link the Eastside with the city core. The development would involve a major shopping area and a 110 metres (361 ft) tall residential tower with a sloping roof constructed, replacing the Priory Square shopping area, which was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd

Frederick Gibberd

Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was an English architect and landscape designer.Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, and was educated at the city's King Henry VIII School...

.

High-rise structures are also being proposed in large numbers. In 1999, the Arena Central scheme on the former ATV

Associated TeleVision

Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...

studios on Broad Street

Broad Street, Birmingham

was unveiled. It featured a 245 metres (804 ft) tall residential tower. This was one of the first highrise buildings to be proposed in the high rise boom in Birmingham. The tower was later redesigned by Eric Kuhne

Eric Kuhne

Eric Robert Kuhne is an American-born architect living and working in London. Owner of CivicArts / Eric R Kuhne & Associates, his office is a research and design firm which has completed projects on five continents...

and unveiled as the V Building in March 2007. The first buildings to be constructed as part of the highrise boom include the Orion Building

Orion Building

The Orion Building is a tall high rise residential building on Navigation Street, Birmingham 5, England. Construction of the tower began in 2004 with demolition of the previous building on the site, and was completed in 2007. As part of the development, the original façades of some of the previous...

on Navigation Street, which is nearing completion with Phase 4, called Sirius, well into construction. The tower section of the complex features apartments and a penthouse designed by fashion designer John Rocha

John Rocha

John Rocha CBE, is a Hong Kong born fashion designer of Chinese and Portuguese descent who is based in Ireland.-Personal life:...

. Proposed designs for the redevelopment of New Street Station were made public in February 2006. They showed a naturally lit foyer and two high rise buildings with the entire development set to cost approximately £500 million. However, many have issued strong objections to the project and an international design competition has taken place for a concept architect. Other projects part of the highrise boom include Broad Street Tower

Broad Street Tower

Broad Street Tower is an approved 134-metre skyscraper for Broad Street, Birmingham, England...

on Broad Street designed by Level7 Architects, The Cube

The Cube (building)

The Cube is a 23 storey mixed-use development in the centre of Birmingham, England. Designed by Ken Shuttleworth of MAKE Architects, it contains 135 flats, of offices, shops, a hotel and a 'skyline' restaurant...

to the rear of The Mailbox

The Mailbox

The Mailbox is an upmarket development of offices, designer shops, restaurants, bars and luxury city-centre apartments in the City Centre and on the boundary of the City Centre Core in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It includes a mini supermarket and three art galleries: the Artlounge, Castle...

MAKE Architects

, and the redevelopment of National Westminster House and 1 Snow Hill Plaza

1 Snow Hill Plaza

1 Snow Hill Plaza is a highrise office building in Birmingham, England. It is tall and was completed in 1973.It receives the name Kennedy Tower from the mural dedicated to John F...

, both designed by Hamiltons Architects.
A major redevelopment project currently under construction is Snowhill

Snowhill

Snowhill is a mixed-use development by Ballymore between Snow Hill Queensway and Birmingham Snow Hill station in Birmingham City Centre, England. The £500 million phased scheme has been partly completed on the site of a former surface car park adjacent to the railway station. As part of the...

, which will see the construction of three large mixed-use blocks on a surface car park alongside Snow Hill station. As a part of the development, St Chad's Circus was remodelled and Snow Hill Queensway was realigned. Building One, which is completely offices, was completed in 2009, whilst Building Two, a larger office building a similar design, has recently re-commenced construction, and is now due for completion in 2013. Building 3, a 43 storey tower containing apartments connected by a bridge to a 23 storey tower consisting of a luxury hotel, had started construction, however has been placed on hold due to market forces. The developer is Ballymore

Ballymore

Ballymore may refer to:*Ballymore , an Irish property company*Ballymore, County Cork, village on Great Island, Cork Harbour, Ireland*Ballymore, County Donegal, Ireland*Ballymore, County Westmeath, Ireland*Ballymore, County Wexford, Ireland...

and architects include Glenn Howells

Glenn Howells

and Sidell Gibson Architects.

Conservation areas

Birmingham

has 27 conservation area

Conservation area

A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...

s. The first conservation areas in Birmingham were designated in 1969. Birmingham City Council have designed 31 conservation areas, of which one, St Peter's Place, have been de-designated in 1976 following the demolition of the church in its centre. The Castle Bromwich

Castle Bromwich

Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale,...

Conservation Area was transferred to Solihull

Solihull

Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

following a boundary amendment from April 1, 1988. The former Key Hill and St Paul's Conservation Areas were incorporated into the Jewellery Quarter Conservation Area on September 27, 2000.

Name	Area (ha Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2... )	Date designated	Additional designations or notes
Anchorage Road, Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...	17.57	15 October 1992	None.	52.569°N 1.824°W
Aston Hall Aston Hall Aston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:... and Church Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Aston The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul in Witton Lane, Aston, Birmingham, England is a parish church in the Church of England.-Background:Aston and Northfield are the only churches within the City of Birmingham mentioned in Domesday Book...	24.98	27 January 1972	Extended 6 February 1975 and 17 November 1977.	52.506°N 1.884°W
Austin Village, Northfield/ Longbridge Longbridge Longbridge is an area of Birmingham, England. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield.Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant, which produced Austin, Nash Metropolitan, Morris, British Leyland, and most recently MG Rover cars...	13.26	17 July 1997	Covered by Article 4(2) Direction.	52.401°N 1.972°W
Barnsley Road, Edgbaston Edgbaston Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....	12.07	19 May 1988	None.	52.474°N 1.963°W
Bournville Tenants Bournville Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...	9.147	17 June 1971	Extended 6 February 1975.	52.417°N 1.947°W
Bournville Village Bournville Village Trust Bournville Village Trust is an organisation that was created to maintain and improve the suburb of Bournville, located in Birmingham. However, during the 20th century it expanded its geographical coverage to include developments in Shenley Green, Lightmoor in Telford, Bloomsbury in Nechells and...	76.86	17 June 1971	Covered by Article 4(2) Direction. Extended 7 October 1971, 18 June 1981 and 14 July 1994.	52.431°N 1.934°W
Colmore Row Colmore Row Colmore Row is a street in the centre of Birmingham, England, running from Victoria Square to just beyond Snow Hill station. It is traditionally the city's most prestigious business address.... and Environs, City Centre	21.70	7 October 1971	Extended 21 March 1985 and 5 July 1985.	52.481°N 1.900°W
Digbeth Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into... , Deritend Deritend Deritend is an historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.-History:... , and Bordesley Bordesley, West Midlands Bordesley is an area of Birmingham, England and is part of the City's Nechells Ward.It is served by Bordesley railway station.It should not be confused with nearby Bordesley Green.-Notable residents :... High Streets	28.68	31 May 2000	None.	52.476°N 1.884°W
Edgbaston Edgbaston Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....	395.4	4 September 1975	Extended 13 December 1984, 17 September 1992 and 10 October 1992.	52.461°N 1.919°W
Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...	114	10 July 1986	None.	52.576°N 1.832°W
Harborne Old Village Harborne Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...	24.79	17 July 1969	None.	52.453°N 1.957°W
High Street, Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...	16.95	28 November 1973	Partly covered by Article 4(1) Direction. Extended 6 February 1975, 14 August 1980 and 16 July 1992.	52.566°N 1.823°W
Ideal Village, Bordesley Green Bordesley Green Bordesley Green is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England about two miles south-east from the city centre. It also contains a road of the same name. It is also a ward in the formal district of Hodge Hill. Neighbouring areas include, Alum Rock, Saltley, Small Heath and Yardley.Heartlands Hospital...	17.57	18 October 1990	Covered by Article 4(2) Direction.	52.478°N 1.836°W
Jewellery Quarter Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....	94.43	10 January 1980	Extended 18 January 1996 and 27 September 2000.	52.488°N 1.911°W
Kings Norton Kings Norton Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...	14.28	17 July 1969	None.	52.408°N 1.930°W
Lee Crescent, Edgbaston Edgbaston Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....	2.342	6 June 1974	None.	52.469°N 1.908°W
Lozells Lozells Lozells is a loosely-defined inner-city area in the West of Birmingham, England. It is centred on Lozells Road, and is known for its multi-racial population. It is part of the ward of Lozells and East Handsworth and lies between the districts of Handsworth and Aston.Lozells has a high population... and Soho Hill Soho, Birmingham Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth District. Soho is also a ward within the council constituency of Ladywood...	34.44	19 July 1979	None.	52.501°N 1.919°W
Moor Pool, Harborne Harborne Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...	22.32	30 July 1970	Covered by Article 4(2) Direction.	52.463°N 1.957°W
Moseley Moseley Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...	95.06	17 March 1983	Extended 12 November 1987 and 14 March 2005.	52.449°N 1.893°W
Northfield Old Village	4.076	17 July 1969	None.	52.411°N 1.964°W
Old Yardley Yardley, Birmingham Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is John Hemming.-Features:...	11.47	17 July 1969	Covered by Article 4(1) Direction). Extended 15 August 1974.	52.474°N 1.803°W
Ryland Road, Edgbaston Edgbaston Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....	2.759	13 March 1969	None.	52.468°N 1.909°W
St Agnes, Moseley Moseley Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...	27.59	25 June 1987	None.	52.442°N 1.877°W
St Augustines, Edgbaston Edgbaston Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....	13.46	18 February 1988	None.	52.473°N 1.944°W
School Road, Hall Green Hall Green Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...	6.380	17 November 1988	First designation of speculative semi-detached suburbia.	52.433°N 1.837°W
Steelhouse, City Centre	11.07	4 October 1993	None.	52.484°N 1.893°W
Warwick Bar Warwick Bar The Warwick Bar conservation area is a conservation area in Birmingham, England which was home to many canalside factories during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.... , Digbeth Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into...	16.19	25 June 1987	None.	52.479°N 1.884°W

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

11th-17th centuries

18th-19th centuries

Victorian era

1901-1945

Post-World War II architecture

Commercial buildings

Domestic architecture

John Madin

Present skyline

Recent developments

Future developments

Conservation areas

See also

External links