Masshouse
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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.
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[edit] History
The Masshouse area existed in the Victorian times as nothing else but Masshouse Lane. It was a small lane which was connected to Dale End and the junction at Albert Street and Duddeston Row where the tram line parted. The eastern section of the Masshouse area consisted of Saint Bartholomew Church.
It was developed in the 1960s into an elevated 800-metre (2,625 ft)[1] road intersection on the A4400 road and was named Masshouse Circus.[2] The area below it was cleared and used as a surface car park. The elevated roadways were made of concrete which created an appearance disliked by locals. Under the roads was a large car park with pedestrian subways. There were six subways:[3]
- New Meeting
- Henns Walk
- James Watt
- Chapel Street
- Ryder
- Hospital
The road intersection became known as the "concrete collar" which restricted the expansion of the city centre core beyond it into the east and effectively split the city centre.[4]
In March 2002, the roundabout was demolished to clear the land for development and this demolition was named the "breaking of the concrete collar".[5] The work was carried out by Birse Civils and designed by Gifford & Partners[6] in a contract worth £24.2 million. The contractors sought to reuse the 20,000 cubic metres (706,293 cu ft) of reinforced concrete that was removed during demolition.[7] Over £9 million from the European Regional Development Fund was invested into the project.[8]
A replacement road to connect the Bullring Shopping Centre with Jennens Road was completed and opened in August 2003. However, this has been closed due to a number of injuries to pedestrians.[5] However, the land was left as a car park for a number of years as plans and designs for the development were created. Pieces of the rubble collected from the demolished structure, were put on sale by the Birmingham branch of Friends of the Earth with a price tag of 50p per piece.[9]
[edit] Development
Masshouse is now cleared and ready for development with the largest of the three sites being used as a temporary car park. It has been separated into two phases with Phase 1 retaining the Masshouse name and the other plot, Phase 2, being called City Park Gate, named after the City Park to be constructed next to it.
Phase 1 will stretch from the McLaren Building to the Park Street. The scheme is being developed by David McLean Developments and has been designed by Edward Cullinan architects. The entire scheme is expected to cost £350 million[10] and provide 1,100,000 square feet (102,193 m²) of space.[11]
The planning application for Block I was submitted in October 2004.[11] Block I has been completed and the first residents moved into the building in February 2007. Construction of the 14-storey building cost £30 million and consists of 173 studio, one and two-bedroom apartments.[12] Over 50% of the building's 173 apartments were sold in the first week of release.[13] The building is clad in 6,000 m² (64,583 sq ft) of pre-cast panels. They consist of a complex mixture of finishes with some containing black polished bands bounded by a white concrete frame and finished to two different levels of exposure. The top floor penthouse apartments are clad with grey polished pre-cast panels. Many of the main cladding panels are either concave or convex with pointed ends and most will be pre-fitted with windows at the Techrete factory to accelerate the construction process.[14]
Masshouse submitted plans for a second apartments building (Block M) in August 2006.[15] Construction commenced in August 2007 and continues to be under construction with cladding being fitted to the exterior and steel work being assembled. It is estimated to cost £23 million and will consist of 167 studio and one bedroom apartments over 15 floors.[16] Construction is due to be completed in early 2009.[17]
In March 2007, an outline planning application was submitted to Birmingham City Council by GVA Grimley to build a mixed-use development of up to 70,907 square metres (763,237 sq ft) (gross internal area) on Plot 7. The application consisted of four buildings for retail, office, hotel and residential use.[18]
The entire scheme aims to create 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m²) of Grade A office accommodation, 550 high specification apartments, Ground floor cafes, restaurants and retail units, Two new public squares, with traffic free landscaped areas, water features and public art and 800 car parking spaces.
There will also be a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m²) Birmingham Magistrates Court, with 24 court rooms in a purpose designed complex designed by Denton Corker Marshall. The courts will cost £80 million and will be 15 storeys tall.[19]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The fairy dust of renaissance. Financial Times (republished by Eprop) (2002-05-31). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Masshouse Circus (Archive). Birmingham City Council. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Infilled Subways (cached by Google). Birmingham City Council (republished by Google). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ How Masshouse Circus splits the centre of Birmingham (Archive). Birmingham City Council. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ a b Phil Jones. The city as artwork: the dismemberment of modern Birmingham. University of Birmingham. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Masshouse Circus Redevelopment, Birmingham. Gifford Ltd.. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Masshouse Circus Redevelopment, Birmingham. Better Public Buildings. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ EU Funding 2000-2006 Birmingham Case Studies. Birmingham City Council. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ PRESS RELEASE: MASSHOUSE CIRCUS 50p A CHUNK!. Birmingham Friends of the Earth (2002-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Key move heralds first phase of commercial development at Masshouse. Masshouse (2007-03-09). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ a b Birmingham tower to kick off new district. Property Week (2004-10-15). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Eastside boost as first homeowners move in at Masshouse. Masshouse (2007-02-02). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Masshouse Apartments. Emporis. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Stephen Mold (2005-10-01). High-rise residential buildings. Concrete (republished by All Business). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Steve Pain (2006-08-03). Masshouse plans Eastside expansion. Birmingham Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Neil Nickolds (2007-10-05). Masshouse starts to climb at Eastside. Emporis. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ £23 million second phase release marks return of Eastside success. Masshouse (2007-06-04). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Masshouse Square. Emporis. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ DCM to build Birmingham court. Building Design (2008-02-22). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
[edit] External links
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