Brindleyplace

One Brindleyplace is a six-storey office building fronting onto central square and is occupied by Deutsche Bank, GVA Grimley and savills. It provides 68,553 square feet (6,368.8 m²) of office space and 134 car parking spaces. It was the only new office building to be completed in Birmingham in 1995. In 2013 Deutsche Bank extended its lease for another 15 years. The headquarters of the Birmingham Organising Committee of the 2022 Commonwealth Games are also located in One Brindleyplace and has taken up the 73,000 sq ft, five-floor office until December 2022.[8]

Two Brindleyplace is a six-storey office building with 75,000 square feet (6,968 m²) office space. It is built of Marshalls clay brick. The brickwork is a free-standing 9 inches (23 cm) Flemish bond. By utilising a 9 inches (23 cm) outer leaf it was possible to carry, wind loads between floors (3.9 m) and tie the brickwork laterally to the floor plates only.[9] More than 1,000 Lloyds Banking Group employees work in the building. The departments based at Brindleyplace include the International Department and Concerns. The entrance to the building is by revolving door with three pass activated revolving doors into the main building next to reception. The top floor houses a large canteen area with seating for around 150 staff.

Three Brindleyplace is occupied by Avison Young (Commercial Property Advisers), Towers Watson and Landmark Space. It has a full-height glazed atrium which consists of a light post-and-spandrel structure. There are three passenger lifts and 23 on-site car parking spaces. Construction commenced in 1996 and was completed in April 1998.

Four Brindleyplace consists of 114,000 square feet (10,591 m²) of office space with a Bank restaurant and bar on the ground floor. Caffe Nero Deloitte & Touche, Michael Page, Mercer Human Resource Consulting and Perceptive Informatics are all tenants in the building. The services engineers were Hoare Lea & Partners, whilst Silk & Frazier were the quantity surveyors. It was the winner of the "Best of Best" award.[10] It received top accolades in the British Council for Offices Awards 2000 and finalist status in the 2004 Brickwork Awards.

Five Brindleyplace was pre-let to BT in 1994 with design work starting in December of the same year. Construction began in June 1995. BT moved into the offices in February 1997 and used it as their regional headquarters.[11] It provides 120,000 square feet (11,148 m²) of office space. The construction used the curtain walling system.[12] Argent worked with BT to provide 'green' features such as an upflow air conditioning system with heat recovery, openable windows and energy saving lighting and controls.[13] BT vacated the building at the beginning of 2011. After a £8m makeover Deutsche Bank will be leasing the majority of the building from 2014. PLACES Birmingham Residential Lettings and Sales agent occupy the central ground floor office space.

Six Brindleyplace provides 92,000 square feet (8,547 m²) of office space as well as offering to retail units that look over Oozells Square. The Thai Edge, which is one of these restaurants, opened in 2000. Whilst the concept architect was Allies and Morrison, the production architect was Weedon Partnership. Curtains Consulting Engineers were the structural engineers. It cost £12.3 million.[14]

Seven Brindleyplace provides 85,000 square feet (7,897 m²) of office space. Construction commenced in 2002 and lasted two years. The building has a steel frame with external walls in self-supporting brick construction with ashlar stone rustication and stone dressings. The windows are detailed in metal, as is the top storey and terminated cornice.

Construction began on Eight Brindleyplace in July 2000. It provides 92,000 square feet (8,547 m²) of office space, situated below 35 fully serviced apartments, in addition to ground-floor retail and restaurant units. The 14 storey structure is split into nine floors of office space and five floors of residential apartments. Glamalco installed a variety of Kawneer's precision-engineered curtain walling and window products throughout the building in a partnering contract with Argent valued at approximately £1.1 million.[15]

Nine Brindleyplace consists 26,800 square feet (2,490 m²) of restaurant space, 43,000 square feet (3,995 m²) of office space and 60 parking spaces. It looks over Broad Street. It is the location of Number Nine the Gallery, a modern and fine art gallery established in 1999 by Lee Benson.[16] It is also home to Unity Trust Bank, Orion Media including the studios of three radio stations, Free Radio Birmingham, Free Radio 80s and Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire and Coast to Coast (Restaurant) and Bar on the ground floor.

Ten Brindleyplace has 62,000 square feet (5,760 m²) of office space as well as a 5,000 square feet (465 m²) retail unit overlooking Broad Street.[17] Sainsbury's Local and NatWest occupy the retail units on the ground floor.

NatWest Group offices

The development and the surrounding canal apartments were completed at an estimated cost of around £350 million. A planning application for the final phase of the development at 11 Brindleyplace, Brunswick Square,[18] was submitted in September 2006.[19] The 13 storey building was deferred over Section 106 on 2 November 2006.[20] The building was designed by Glenn Howells Architects and is located to the rear of the Novotel hotel. It was not included in the masterplan however has been described as a "key component" for the Brindleyplace scheme. There were some issues raised over the height of the tall building in the predominantly low rise Brindleyplace development. The distinctive glazed facade to Eleven Brindleyplace is now a feature of the development and was designed by CJN Consulting Engineers Ltd . Construction commenced in February 2007 and the office building was topped out in May 2008. Tenants include Capita Symonds, Friend LLP, Robert Walters, the West Midlands headquarters of the Institute of Directors, Hettle Andrews, Cohort Software, Argent and Colliers International and Global Radio with stations Heart West Midlands and Capital Birmingham.

Seven, Eight and Ten Brindleyplace are all owned by NatWest Group and are all linked to form a core building. At the time that the company decided to rent all three buildings, only Eight Brindleyplace had been completed and was designed to be a standalone building. As a result, the windows that were removed from the building so that a connection to the other two could be formed were reused in Seven and Ten Brindleyplace as to not put the windows to waste.[15]

Water's Edge was the first building to begin construction in the Brindleyplace scheme. The building contains 60,000 square metres (645,835 sq ft) of retail space along a canalside location, opposite the International Convention Centre. In 1995, it won the Top Honour Award for "Excellence on the Waterfront".[21] It is believed that up to two million people visit The Water's Edge each year, spending up to £13.9 million.[22] Restaurants and Cafes located along Water's Edge include Café Rouge, Carluccio's, Pizza Express, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Slug and Lettuce and Wagamama.

Symphony Court, developed by Crosby Homes, is located on a triangle shaped site across the Brindley Loop Canal.[23] Completed in 1995, it is noted as being one of the earliest city centre residential developments. The complex consists of 143 houses and apartments.[17] It has gated private access. The value of the residences increased 250% in the first few years.[24]

Central Square with Two, Six, Seven and Five Brindleyplace

Central Square consists of a 90-metre (295 ft) tree-lined area which is able to accommodate open-air performing arts events,[25] such as ArtsFest which is held there annually. The square is paved in York stone and has a fountain featuring 38 jets of water.

Situated in the centre of the square is a Costa Coffee designed by Piers Gough. Constructed of glass and steel, it has an "eye-shaped" footprint. The structure consists of a tubular steel frame which is glazed. The vertical structural columns meet the roof members which cross over at a ridge. This forms two canopies which mirror the footprint of the building. Forty people can be seated in the 14-metre (45.9 ft) by 7.6-metre (24.9 ft) cafe, with 100 also able to sit outside. The glazing consists of double glazed units with a white dot fritted outer pane. This reduces glare and solar gain.[26]

Also in the square is a sculpture named "Aquaduct" by Miles Davies. Made of bronze and phosphor, the sculpture was the winning entry in a competition conducted by Brindleyplace plc in conjunction with the Royal Society of British Sculptors. "Aquaduct" was the first of Davies' winning pieces to be unveiled in August 1995. Situated on a low stepped base, the sculpture is in two pieces and is in the form of an aqueduct. It is illuminated at night by recessed lighting. It was manufactured by Burleighfield Arts and supported by the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts (ABSA). The sculpture is 6.1 metres (20.0 ft) tall, 11.5 metres (37.7 ft) long and 30 centimetres (11.8 in) wide.[27] The second work by Miles Davies in the Brindleyplace scheme is "Gates", which is a 4-metre (13.1 ft) tall, 3.8-metre (12.5 ft) long and 30-centimetre (11.8 in) wide, bronze and phosphor sculpture taking the shape of traditional lock gates on canals. Like "Aquaduct", it is a hollow construction.[27]

Oozells Square, receiving its name from Oozells Street that ran on the site before the development, features a channel of still water running diagonally which is lined by cherry trees. Paul de Monchaux designed the stone sculptured seats and the pergola which are located in the square.[25] The main entrance to the Ikon Gallery overlooks the square.

Brunswick Square is located to the west of the development. Whilst being a pedestrian-zone, it has vehicular access.[28] It is overlooked by the Hilton Garden Inn and forms the main entrance to Eleven Brindleyplace.