103 Colmore Row is a 108-metre tall, 26-storey commercial office skyscraper located on
Colmore Row
Colmore Row is a street in Birmingham City Centre 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.
Colmore Row and its envir ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England. Completed in 2021, this building replaced the former
NatWest
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...
Tower designed by
John Madin
John Hardcastle Dalton Madin (23 March 1924 – 8 January 2012) was an English architect. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, was active in Birmingham for over 30 years.
Bio ...
and completed in 1975. In 2008, a plan by then owners
British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...
to demolish Natwest Tower and replace it with a taller modern equivalent was approved. This plan never progressed and in 2015 the building passed to the developer Sterling Property Ventures, who successfully applied to have the building demolished. Construction of the new tower began in June 2019 and completed in 2021.
103 Colmore Row is the tallest office building in the United Kingdom outside London to be constructed since the completion of
Alpha Tower
Alpha Tower is a Grade II listed office skyscraper in Birmingham, England. It was designed by the Birmingham-born architect George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV (Associated T ...
, also in Birmingham, in 1973.
Original building
![NatWestTowerBirmingham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/NatWestTowerBirmingham.JPG)
The original building was a 23-storey structure with entrances on Colmore Row and
Newhall Street
Newhall Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.
Newhall Street stretches from Colmore Row in the city centre by St Phillip's Cathedral in a north-westerly direction towards the Jewellery Quarter. Originally the road was the drivew ...
. Designed by
John Madin
John Hardcastle Dalton Madin (23 March 1924 – 8 January 2012) was an English architect. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, was active in Birmingham for over 30 years.
Bio ...
, it is of the
Brutalist style
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...
, contrasting the traditional Victorian architectural styles in the immediate area. Although, the pre-cast concrete panels on the exterior, which were common on commercial buildings of the time, rather than in-situ concrete did make the building differ from classic Brutalism.
[
Designs for the building were first publicised in 1964 and it was remarked that it had drawn inspiration from the ]University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
by Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...
. The designs showed a two-storey banking hall with a rectangular tower with horizontal ribbon windows. It also showed a service tower facing on to Newhall Street. This design differed significantly to the one that was approved by Birmingham City Council.[''English Heritage (Listing) Advisory'', M. Bellamy, 9 May 2008. Published by Birmingham City Council on planning application number C/02353/08/FUL. Retrieved 30 November 2008.] The scheme also included a five-storey office block to the west of the site that was separated from it by an L-shaped courtyard. This office block was later reclad and increased to eight storeys in 1996-7 so that it reads as a separate building. The entire scheme was named the "Colmore Centre".[''Supporting Statement PPG15 Report'', published with planning application number C/02353/08/FUL. Published 28 April 2008 by Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 30 November 2008.] The first phase of the scheme, which consisted of the construction of the banking hall, was completed in 1969. Construction of the tower began in 1973 and was completed three years later at a total cost of £3.5 million.[
The building was constructed so that it was not solely occupied by the National Westminster Bank, but could also be let to tenants so that the bank could maximise the profitability of the site. However, the building proved difficult to let and was never fully occupied; the only major corporation to take office space in the tower was ]Eversheds
Eversheds Sutherland is a global multinational law practice created by a combination of law firms Eversheds LLP and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, in February 2017, and is one of the 50 largest law practices in the world.
History
1988 to 20 ...
. The building has been vacant since 2003.[
There were numerous interesting features, including the original aluminium-cast banking hall doors, created and made by Henry Haig (1930 – 6 December 2007), who was an English abstract artist, painter and sculptor but notable predominantly for his stained glass work, which consisted of an abstract triangle design based on the NatWest logo][ and were painted to resemble bronze.][ The banking hall itself had a coffered ceiling of plasterboard covered in gold leaf and Travertine marble floors and skirtings.][ The exterior was covered in abstract plaster murals and bronze matt ceramic tiles. The lift shaft and two ventilation towers were constructed using brick. The structure was constructed of precast concrete with waffle concrete floor slabs.][ There were four plant floors at the top of the tower and 100 car park spaces in a basement car park that became disused upon the discovery of asbestos. The office block was accessed via a stainless steel surround doorway on Newhall Street, where the land began to drop, exposing the ventilation grills for the basement. The entrance here appeared to be of a later date to the rest of the building. The office block had a service core at the centre of each floor, consisting of a large service duct, lavatories, four lift shafts and staircase. The lifts had stainless steel doors and the lift lobby had Travertine panelling on the walls. There was a kitchen on the twentieth floor which retained its original green panels and equipment, such as the ]dumbwaiter
A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restaur ...
. The NatWest logo was originally attached to the west side of the building, although it was later removed leaving only the bracketing.[ It is believed that considerable efforts were made to reduce the cost of the tower's construction, which took place during a time when rising oil prices ended the development boom of the 1960s making an increasingly hostile economic climate. Examples of cost-cutting measures employed during the construction of the building include the use of plasterboard to mimic concrete on the banking hall's ceiling and the use of an alternative metal to bronze for the banking hall doors.][
The building formed a prominent point on the Birmingham skyline until its demolition. It was also one of the most modern buildings and the tallest structure in the Colmore Row and Environs Conservation Area, and became a frequent perching point for the city centre's ]peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
s. Architectural critic Andy Foster described the building as being "the most important Brutalist commercial building in the city, disastrous in context but with its own tremendous integrity."
Approved replacement
In December 2006 British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...
acquired the freehold of the tower from Omega Land for £25 million. A planning application was submitted in April 2008 for demolition of the existing tower and replacement with a 35-storey office building with ground floor retail. The proposed building would be 134.5 m to roof level and 159.5 m to the top of a light mast on the side of the tower. Designed by Hamilton Architects the projected cost was £160 million.
The proposal initially received the backing of the Birmingham Civic Society
Birmingham Civic Society is a voluntary body in Birmingham, England, and is registered with the Civic Trust.
History
The society was founded at an inaugural meeting on 10 June 1918 in the Birmingham Council House. The first president of the ...
who said that they were 90% happy with the design, however the organisation reversed their decision. The project also met objections from the Twentieth Century Society
The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is form ...
and the Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...
who commented that they were "extremely disappointed" with the proposal. After the public consultation, unsuccessful efforts were made to grant the building listed status from English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. It was concluded that the building had good qualities of massing but lacked the high degree of sophisticated architectural detailing that would be expected of a building from this period. They also said that modifications made to the building in the 1990s had considerably compromised the building's architecture and that the interior lacked coherence, although they did comment that the interior of the banking hall did contain many interesting original features. The building received a Certificate of Immunity from Listing
In England a Certificate of Immunity from Listing, generally known as a Certificate of Immunity (COI), is a document which guarantees that a building will not be statutorily listed (added to the National Heritage List for England (NHLE)) or be se ...
in October 2008 which would last until October 2013.
The proposal received planning permission from Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council is the local government 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 council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
in September 2008. It was closely contested with six councillors voting against the scheme and seven voting for it. Due to the effects of the financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
, British Land could not progress the approved scheme, planning permission expired in 2011 and the building was sold in 2014.
New ownership
On 29 September 2014 the building received another Certificate of Immunity from Listing to be effective until 28 September 2019. In its report, English Heritage stated: "while the component parts of the building are well grouped and form an effective addition to the streetscape of this part of central Birmingham and to the skyline, the building has however been considerably altered and no longer forms the cogent grouping which was initially created. The remaining parts of the building do not have the detailed finish or overall architectural quality which would be expected of a structure of this date which was recommended for designation. The repetition of the pre-cast panels across the building creates an impression of regimentation and the turning of the corners is poorly handled. This is particularly apparent on the bank building, where the external treatment of the third floor is ungainly and the edges of the canted corners appear unduly clumsy and unresolved. And while the interior of the banking hall is of interest, it is not matched by the interiors elsewhere, which lack coherence and aesthetic quality."
In November 2014 owners British Land sold the building to Sterling Property Ventures and Rockspring as development partners. The purchase price was not disclosed however it is thought to be in the region of £15 million.
In June 2015 a planning application was submitted to demolish the existing tower and replace with a new 26 storey tower. The proposed £60 million steel, aluminium and glazed building, designed by Doone Silver Kerr, will provide a net floor area of . The building will be the tallest office building in Birmingham at 108 metres. It will comprise of office space over 19 floors, with floor plates up to , and a terrace on the 18th level. A restaurant and retail will be provided at street level and a double height restaurant will be located at the top of the building. In all, the proposals outline of leisure space.
The existing cast aluminium Natwest banking hall doors created and made by Henry Haig
Henry Haig (9 February 19306 December 2007) was an English abstract artist, painter and sculptor but notable predominantly for his stained glass work.
Early life and education
Born in Hampstead in 1930, Haig's talent was recognised and encour ...
, will be incorporated into the new building in a prominent publicly accessible space at the request of the Haig family.
Demolition and construction
Initial scaffolding for demolition began to be erected in July 2015 and a tower crane was installed on 20 September 2015. Demolition took place between September 2015 and January 2017. In February 2018 it was announced that Royal BAM Group
Royal BAM Group nv ( nl, Koninklijke BAM Groep nv) is a Dutch construction-services business with headquarters in Bunnik, Netherlands. It is the largest construction company based on revenue in the Netherlands.
History
The company was founded by ...
had won an £80 million contract to build the new tower. Work started in June 2019, with a completion date of 2021.
See also
* List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham
This list of the tallest buildings and structures in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area, West Midlands ranks buildings and free-standing structures by height, based on standard height measurements that include spires and architectural details b ...
References
External links
Skyscrapernews entry on the tower
Emporis: NatWest Tower
Emporis: 103 Colmore Row
Skyscraperpage entry
103 Colmore Row, Birmingham – Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colmore Row, 103
Buildings and structures completed in 1976
Buildings and structures demolished in 2017
Brutalist architecture in England
Skyscrapers in Birmingham, West Midlands
1976 establishments in England
Skyscraper office buildings in England
Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county)
NatWest Group