TEP was appointed by CEG to prepare designs for the private residential courtyard and public realm associated with the redevelopment of the existing Smallbrook Queensway (SBQ) buildings on the southeast side of Smallbrook Queensway, between the Bullring and Holloway Circus in Birmingham City Centre. The redevelopment proposals were granted full planning consent by Birmingham City Council (BCC) and will deliver a flagship, multi-million pound office, retail, leisure and residential development on this high profile site.
TEP’s Landscape Architects worked closely with Architects at Norr, who had been commissioned to prepare proposals for the partial refurbishment and redevelopment of CEG’s existing retail, leisure and office buildings. The redevelopment proposals include a new iconic high-rise residential tower at the junction of Smallbrook Queensway and Hurst Street, which will provide a key landmark on the strategic walking route from Birmingham New Street Railway Station towards the City’s Chinese Quarter.
The new residential development needed a private courtyard space which would provide valued amenity space and which had a clean and contemporary design, befitting the development’s location at the heart of the city centre. The geometric courtyard design took cues from the design of the new buildings, and the spandrel pattern seen on the SBQ buildings. The geometric design was used to create a series of outdoor rooms, which will provide flexible spaces and a range of user experiences. TEP prepared details of hard and soft landscape proposals for the courtyard as part of the full planning application.
The client also recognised that the public realm adjacent to its buildings was out-dated and in need of investment, and was keen to include public realm proposals in its planning application. TEP developed a public realm design which responded to the complex city centre site, set within the context of Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) Big City Plan. The design works in combination with a wider suite of public realm improvements in the vicinity of Smallbrook Queensway, to contribute to the overarching aim of providing an attractive, high quality, functional and legible city centre public realm.
