After a decade of regeneration work, Birmingham is enjoying a renaissance. Barry Mansfield looks at how Britain’s second city has reinvented itself
As little as 10 years ago, Birmingham was widely regarded as the ugly sister of British cities – run-down, badly congested and unattractive to visitors. Thanks to a string of daring urban regeneration projects, the city has been transformed, with canal-side offices and restaurants at Brindleyplace complementing the plush new bars on Broad Street and the breathtaking Symphony Hall.
One obstacle in particular required a concerted effort from the City Council. For years, Birmingham’s limited retail offer was struggling to match the international standard of its business and cultural facilities. The council made it a priority to redress this balance, and more importantly, to prevent the flow of shoppers and the associated economic benefits from travelling out of the city. The lessons learned by Birmingham are already shaping the next era of urban regeneration projects.
Central to Birmingham’s redevelopment has been the overhaul of its commercial precinct, Bullring, in 2003. Now synonymous with the modern retail business and the futuristic €80m (£60m) Selfridges store, Bullring also has a history. It was first developed into a shopping centre in the 1960s, and has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages, when a market was held there.
The latest redevelopment has been a huge success story. In its first year of service, 36.5 million visitors to the new Bullring were recorded, making it the UK’s most popular shopping centre outside London’s West End. These figures exceeded even the most optimistic predictions by around 10 million and, for Bullring’s supporters, have helped justify its €708m (£530m) price tag. Some retailers have even ‘raised their game’ to capitalise on the footfall generated by Bullring – a notable example being House of Fraser’s €40m (£30m) refurbishment.
But Birmingham’s resurgence as a shopping mecca was really kicked off a few years before the opening of Bullring, with the launch of the Mailbox in 2000. Described as the West Midlands’ answer to Bond Street, the Mailbox is probably Britain’s largest mixed-use building, incorporating penthouse-style apartments, offices, hotels, restaurants and, of course, shops – among them Emporio Armani and Harvey Nichols, as well as the big players in high-street retail.
The benefits of Bullring and the Mailbox have been much broader than simply re-establishing Birmingham’s prominence as a shopping destination. More than 8,000 jobs were created during Bullring’s construction and it has generated thousands more employment opportunities since. It’s also interesting to note that hotel occupancy rates for weekend stays in Birmingham rose by close to 10% in the 12 months after Bullring opened.
Birmingham is also experiencing a resurgence in city-centre living. As a final piece of the Bullring jigsaw, the Rotunda – the city’s 20-storey cylindrical office building – is being converted into a landmark residential development through a partnership between the Birmingham Alliance and Urban Splash. Although the redevelopment will not be completed until later this year, all 232 apartments have already been sold off-plan.
In the light of both schemes’ massive success in drawing visitors to Birmingham, the council has been careful to ensure that the urban transport infrastructure is primed to handle greater demand in future. For example, the former Edwardian station of Moor Street, adjacent to Bullring, has been fully restored by the Birmingham Alliance. The ticket office has been reinstated in its original 1930s style and re-opened after 16 years out of service. The station was brought back into full use last year, creating a new gateway to Bullring and Birmingham from London Marylebone.
This €15m (£11m) development supports the city’s already impressive national and international transport links; Birmingham International Airport is just five miles away from the city centre, connected by Birmingham International rail station, and the city is at the hub of a comprehensive motorway network that connects to every corner of the country via the M5, M6, M40 and M42.
Business visitors make a major contribution to the local economy – and it’s hardly surprising. With facilities such as the International Convention Centre and National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the Birmingham area accounts for 42% of the UK’s conference and exhibition trade. In 2007, Cushman & Wakefield judged that Birmingham was the third-best place in the UK to locate a business.
Birmingham’s architectural transformation is far from complete. Broad Street’s V Building, which will be Britain’s tallest all-residential tower when completed in 2013, is intended to become a landmark for the heart of the city, its unusual scissor-like roof and reflective glass lending Birmingham “the same recognition that the Sears Building gave Chicago,” according to the structure’s architect Eric Kuhne. The building will soar to nearly 150 metres and feature more than 600 private residential apartments and 60 serviced suites, as well as three top restaurants and cocktail bars, a library, spa, leisure space and a rooftop observatory.
Other projects in the pipeline include Snowhill, Ballymore’s €668m (£500m) four-part development in the city centre, which will combine office space, retail units, a hotel and residential space. Then there is Ventureast, the €60m (£45m) mixed-use development in Eastside that represents one of the biggest regeneration schemes in Europe and is set to create 5,000 jobs. It’s thought that a makeover of the 16-acre site could bring one million extra square feet online. Architects Make have also been given the green light to start the City Park Gate project, which will create a 24/7 bar and café scene, and will connect Eastside to the city centre.
Birmingham’s ambitions have not been limited to economic regeneration; there has also been a renewed focus on the arts, learning and culture. The €152m (£114m) Millennium Point Park, opened in 2002, is home to Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum; the Young People’s Parliament; the Technology Innovation Centre; and the University of the First Age.
Open-air performing-arts events such as the annual ArtsFest are held regularly at Brindleyplace’s tree-lined Central Square, and the council has also been investigating a possible relocation of Birmingham Central Library. It now seems that the scheme most likely to go ahead is an entirely new facility on the Centenary Square site, adjoining the Birmingham Repertory Theatre as part of a whole new complex. The plan has been costed at €258m (£193m) and would include a new mid-size theatre to complement the Repertory’s main house and small studio theatre.
It’s exactly the kind of bold, forward-thinking project you’d expect from a city that’s going from strength to strength.
FR Ville du 21e siècle
Autrefois largement regardée comme la sœur disgracieuse des villes britanniques – délabrée, congestionnée et rebutante pour les visiteurs, aujourd’hui, après une décennie de travaux de rénovation, Birmingham vit une renaissance. Les bureaux du bord du canal et les restaurants de la Brindleyplace viennent s‘ajouter aux nouveaux bars luxueux de Broad Street et à l’époustouflant Symphony Hall.
Au centre du re-développement de Birmingham se profile la rénovation de la surface commerciale, Bullring, en 2003, synonyme de distribution moderne avec le magasin futuriste Selfridges de €80m (£60m). Au cours de sa première année de fonctionnement, 36,5 millions de visiteurs ont été enregistrés au Bullring, ce qui en fait le centre commercial le plus populaire de l’UK en dehors du quartier West End de Londres.
Toutefois, la résurgence de Birmingham comme la mecque du shopping a déjà pris son envol quelques années avant l’ouverture de Bullring, en 2000, avec le lancement de the Mailbox. Décrite comme la réponse du West Midlands à Bond Street, le Mailbox est sans doute le plus grand bâtiment à usage mixte du Royaume-Uni, intégrant des appartements de style penthouse, des bureaux, des hôtels, des restaurants sans oublier les magasins – dont Emporio Armani et Harvey Nichols.
Le conseil municipal a veillé à ce que l’infrastructure de transport puisse gérer un plus grand nombre de demandes dans le futur. Ainsi, la station edwardienne de Moor Street – adjacente au Bullring – a été entièrement refaite et remise en service, créant une nouvelle voie de communication de Birmingham à London Marylebone. Ces travaux de €15m (£11m) reflètent l’importance des réseaux de transport de la ville, tant au niveau national qu’international.
Mais les ambitions de Birmingham ne se sont pas limitées à la renaissance économique; les arts, l’éducation et la culture ont également bénéficié d’un regain d’intérêt. Le Millennium Point Park de €152m (£114m), inauguré en 2002, abrite le Musée de la Science de Birmingham; le Parlement des Jeunes; le Centre de l’ Innovation Technologique et l’Université du premier Age. Des événements artistiques extérieurs sont programmés tels l’annuel ArtsFest et ils se déroulent habituellement sur la place centrale bordée d’arbres de Brindleyplace. On notera également que la ville a évalué les possibilités de déménager la Bibliothèque Centrale de Birmingham.
NL Stad van de 21ste eeuw
Ooit was ze het lelijke eendje onder de Britse steden: verloederd, verlamd door het verkeer en onaantrekkelijk voor bezoekers. Na tien jaar intense renovatie verrijst Birmingham nu uit haar as. Kantoren en restaurants in de kanaalzone van Brindleyplace concurreren met hippe nieuwe bars in Broad Street en de adembenemende Symphony Hall.
Hét icoon van Birminghams heropstanding is het in 2003 gerenoveerde winkelcentrum Bullring, synoniem voor de moderne winkelbeleving en de futuristische Selfridgeswinkel van zo’n €80m (£60m). In het eerste jaar na zijn heropening kreeg de Bullring zo’n 36,5 miljoen bezoekers over de vloer, meteen het populairste Britse winkelcentrum buiten de Londense West End.
De opkomst van Birmingham als winkelwalhalla begon echter al in 2000, met de lancering van de Mailbox. Dat centrum wordt vaak omschreven als het antwoord van de West Midlands op Bond Street en is het grootste multifunctionele gebouw in het VK. Het huisvest penthouseappartementen, kantoren, hotels, restaurants en natuurlijk winkels, waaronder Emporio Armani en Harvey Nichols.
Het stadsbestuur heeft er ook voor gezorgd dat het openbaar vervoer klaar is voor het groeiende succes van de stad. Zo is het Edwardiaanse station van Moor Street, vlakbij de Bullring, volledig gerenoveerd en opnieuw in gebruik genomen voor een nieuwe verbinding tussen Birmingham en Marylebone in Londen. Dit bouwproject van €15m (£11m) ondersteunt de sowieso al indrukwekkende nationale en internationale transportverbindingen van de stad.
Birmingham beperkt zich echter niet tot een economische revival. Er is ook nieuwe aandacht voor kunst, scholing en cultuur. Het Millennium Point Park (kostprijs €152m (£114m)), geopend in 2002, huisvest het Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum, het Young People’s Parliament, het Technology Innovation Centre en de University of the First Age. Op het met bomen omzoomde centrale plein van Brindleyplace vinden regelmatig culturele evenementen in openlucht plaats, zoals het jaarlijkse ArtsFest. Bovendien is het stadsbestuur op zoek naar een nieuw onderkomen voor de centrale bibliotheek.
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