City Park Gate
Encyclopedia
Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties Ltd is a property development company based in the United Kingdom. It is active in urban regeneration and creation of sustainable communities. It also carries out Design and Build contracts for housing associations....
in the 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...
area of Birmingham
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...
, 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...
. 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...
, 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...
and Buro Happold
Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
, City Park Gate is on a prominent site alongside Moor Street Queensway, Birmingham Moor Street Station and a short distance from the Bull Ring Shopping Centre.
Planning history
The site was formerly taken up by Masshouse CircusMasshouse
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...
, an elevated road junction which was demolished in 2000. The site created after the 'breaking of the concrete collar' was split into two phases. Phase 1 retained the Masshouse name and is to be developed into a high rise mixed use development by David McLean. Phase 2 became City Park Gate.
The original plan was part of a wider scheme to move 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...
to the site from its current site 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...
. City Park Gate was to be the mixed use scheme adjacent the Library of Birmingham and plans, designed by Lord Richard Rogers
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
, were presented. Initially supported by the council, the library plan was dropped by Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
however the mixed use scheme was kept. Despite this, Richard Rogers pulled out of the scheme.
In late 2005, it was revealed that Countryside Properties and Quintain were to submit a planning application to the city council for outline planning consent for the site. It also became clear that a new architect's practice had been chosen and this was revealed to be MAKE Architects.
News on the site went quiet throughout 2006 until November 2006 when demolition of the Euro Discount Megastore began as well as archaeological excavations on the adjacent car park to determine the history of the site. In December 2006, an outline planning application was submitted and a scrutiny period by the council began later in the month.
The proposals received planning permission on May 10, 2007 from Birmingham City Council's Planning Department. Construction is expected to begin in early 2008.
Richard Roger proposals
Lord Richard Rogers was commissioned to design the scheme by Countryside properties and his practice, Richard Rogers Partnerships designed a high rise and mid-rise development.The designs were produced alongside the Library of Birmingham designs. The designs for the scheme showed the total demolition of the site except for the Grade II listed public house, The Fox and Grapes. This was to be incorporated into the building.
There were three rows of buildings culminating in high rise residential blocks of about 21 stories each with a spire on top. Within this development was 40,000 square metres of residential apartments, 11,500 square metres of offices and 11,000 square metres of retail accommodation.
The name was created as the development was to be located next to a major new city park in front of Millennium Point. It was also intended to be a gateway development to the Eastside from the Bull Ring.
The entire development was expected to cost £70 million though many believed this could not be possible due to the size and prominence of the site. Other criticisms were to the proposed demolition of the locally listed Island House
Island House (Birmingham)
Island House is a locally listed building in Birmingham's Eastside area.Built in 1912, Island House vaguely resembles the Flatiron Building in New York City...
which was completed in 1912.
The overall area of the site was 1.9 hectares and the area available was 650000 sq ft (60,387 m²).
MAKE Architects proposals
The MAKE designs are larger in area available than the Rogers design. The Rogers design was 650000 sq ft (60,387 m²) however the MAKE design is to be 1000000 sq ft (92,903 m²). Office space was doubled to 250000 sq ft (23,225.8 m²), and the numbers of apartments increased to 844.
The high rise element was maintained throughout the design with the tallest building reaching 85 metres. Two new public open spaces were also created within the planning application: Island Place and Freeman Place.
Construction of the development has been split into phases and subphases. Phase 1 is in the centre of the development and consists of three buildings centred around a courtyard. Subphase, Phase 1a, addresses the Fox and Grapes public house which will get preserved.
Phase 2 is adjacent to Moor Street station and is one large building with numerous setbacks, each roof with a garden. Phase 2a is to have a small 10 metre building with retail units facing onto Freeman Place.
Phase 3 consists of the construction of two new buildings, one of them the largest in the whole development, as well as the extension onto Island House with a roof garden. The large building will be 85 metres tall approximately and will follow the boundary of the site along Masshouse Lane to Moor Street Queensway with a sloping roof. Within its courtyard will be a 10 metre building with retail units.
Also in the development will be a foodstore and room for a hotel. Parking will be underground and will be accessed from two sites.
Archaeological excavations revealed the foundations and walls of Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
cellar
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
s which had been filled with medieval soil.
Construction is expected to begin in 2008 and be completed in the mid-2010s.
Hotel La Tour
The Hotel La Tour will be built in the triangular plot between Masshouse Lane and Albert Street at the north end of the development.The developers, Hotel La Tour Group and architects, Lewis & Hickey will build a four star 174 bedroom hotel, 9 storeys high on its tallest point.The building is currently under construction by construction company Galliford TryGalliford Try
Galliford Try plc is a leading British construction business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
, with an aim of opening the hotel in February 2012. The cost of the development is reported to be £24 million.
Sources
- Outline planning application submitted by FPD Savills on 29 November 2006. Application number: C/07395/06/OUT