Rotunda (Birmingham)
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| Rotunda | |
 The Rotunda during refurbishment c.July 2007 |
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| Building | |
|---|---|
| Type | Commercial, later residential |
| Location | Birmingham, England |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Construction | |
| Started | 1961 |
| Completed | 1965 |
| Height | 81 metres (266 ft)[1] |
| Floor Count | 25 |
| Design Team | |
| Architect | Jim Roberts[1] |
| Awards and Prizes | Grade II listed |
The Rotunda is an iconic, cylindrical highrise building in Birmingham, England. The Grade II listed building is 81 metres (266 ft) tall and was completed in 1965. It has recently been refurbished by Urban Splash with Glenn Howells which turned it into a residential building. The building was officially reopened on the May 13, 2008.
Contents |
[edit] History
A part of the James A. Roberts design for the Bull Ring Shopping Centre included a 12 storey circular office block. This was revised to 25 storeys, abandoning plans for a rooftop restaurant[1] and a cinema. The design was approved and construction began on the 81 metre (265 foot) building in 1961. It was constructed with aid of a tower crane located to the side of the reinforced concrete central core. Due to its proximity to a railway tunnel, the main load was built on to a twin ring of piled foundations directly beneath the circular structural core. The floors are supported by the core and perimeter columns. When opened, the podium had shops and a banking hall with a circular mural designed by John Poole.[2]
Completed in 1965 as an office block at a cost of £1 million during the post-war rebuilding of the Bull Ring, it was initially much derided and considered a "dead building". However, suggestions in the 1980s that it should be demolished when the Bull Ring was again redeveloped met with equal, if not greater, hostility from the local populace.
In 1974, a pub on the ground floor of the building was the site of one of the Birmingham pub bombings.[1]
Since construction and prior to the construction of the new Bullring, advertisements were displayed on the top of the building. In the 1960s and 1970s these advertisements were for the property company MEPC, while in the 1980s and 1990s the Rotunda displayed signs for Coca-Cola. During construction of the new Bullring, advertisements on the top of the building advertised the new development. The building also previously had a digital clock showing the time from the top floors. In August 2000, it received Grade II listed building status.[1]
[edit] Refurbishment
From 2004 to 2008, the Rotunda, a Grade II listed building, was refurbished and partially converted for residential use by developer Urban Splash and Glenn Howells Architects.[3] The redevelopment created 232 luxury apartments, including six penthouse suites on the 20th floor. There are fourteen apartments on each floor. All apartments have been sold, with the final 92 being sold within three hours of their release.[4]
Two hi-tech LED illuminations were installed at the top of the building in 2007. Both LED boards have been removed to make way for a 'light box' which was approved by Birmingham City Council in late-2007. The façade consists of 72 floor-to-ceiling height glass panes, each placed at 5° to the neighbouring window.[4]
On May 18, 2006, strong winds dislodged a pane of glass causing it to fall to the ground resulting in the surrounding area to be closed to the public.[5]
In May 2004, its original architect Jim Roberts commented:
| “ | The top floor has no central column to allow it to rotate. The weight is instead suspended off the column which runs through the building core.
The idea for the revolving restaurant was only scrapped at the last minute after the Rotunda's shell was built. I can't reveal anything about the new design, but it has my full backing. What they are looking at doing with the building is excellent and will make it more eye-catching and I'm extremely delighted to have been involved in the project. The new developers seem more receptive to ideas than when I designed it. It would have been a very exciting development, but because it was very developer-led many features were cut as they wouldn't generate extra revenue from firms taking office space. I can't wait to come and see it after the refurbishment. |
” |
He also explained that the building had originally been intended to look like a candle, with a flame-like beacon on top, changing colour to reflect the weather.
[edit] Gallery
 The Rotunda on the 20th April 2006 during refurbishment. |
 16th June 2006 with most of the walls removed, to be replaced with glazing. |
 The Rotunda in 2007 during the refurbishment. The majority of the windows and cladding has been installed. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e The Rotunda, Birmingham. Emporis. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Hickman, Douglas (1970). Birmingham, City Buildings Series. Studio Vista Ltd., 78.
- ^ Neil Nickolds (2007-03-27). Rotunda hit by an urban splash. Emporis. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ a b Neil Nickolds (2007-07-29). Urban makes a splash at Rotunda. Emporis. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Bullring evacuated after Rotunda glass falls. Birmingham Post (2006-05-19). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
[edit] External links
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