V Building

Infobox Skyscraper


building_name=V Building
status=Site Under Demolition
previous_building=
year_built=
surpassed_by_building=
year_highest=
year_end=
location=Broad Street, Birmingham, England
status=Proposed
antenna_spire= convert|152|m|ft|0
roof= convert|147|m|ft|0
height_stories= 51
construction_period= 2008 - 2013
Under Construction=
floor_area=
architect= Eric Kuhne
developer= Dandara
contractor=
emporis_id= The V Building (formerly known as Arena Central Tower and briefly as Arena Square Tower) is a 51 storey residential skyscraper approved for construction on Broad Street in the city centre of Birmingham, United Kingdom as part of a larger development scheme called Arena Central on the former ATV / Central Television Studios which had closed in 1997. The entire development site covers an area of convert|7.6|acre|m2. In July 2008, the developers announced that the project has been put on hold for at least a year due to changes in the residential market and also said that project may be reconfigured. [Lisa Pilkington (2008-07-28). "V Building hit by residential crash". "Estates Gazette". Retrieved on 2008-07-28.]

It will be located next to Alpha Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Birmingham, on what is currently a multi-level underground car park. The total cost of the entire scheme is expected to be £500 million, and the tower, £150 million.

The estimated date of completion was for 2009, however, due to the setbacks this was deemed unlikely and a later date of 2013 has been produced by the developers and architects. The completion date for the entire scheme is expected to be of a later date.

Original proposal

The tower was not part of the original plan for Arena Central which was submitted in 1998 by Miller Group. No buildings in the design were taller than 20 storeys. However, the design was soon changed and a tower was incorporated later into the year. The design, by HOK Architects, saw a 50 storey tower which had a total height of 245 metres to the top of the spire and a roof height of 187 metres. At the time, that would have made the tower the tallest building in Birmingham and England, and one of the tallest in Europe. The building was referred to Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott in 2000 who disapproved of the tower and forced it to be scaled down to 187 metres. The amendments to the design were made and the entire scheme later received outline planning consent.

The 9/11 attacks of 2001 resulted in a number of setbacks for the project and it was significantly delayed. The building was considered a potential terrorist target if constructed and in consequence, the Hampton Trust pulled out of the project as part owners. No news about the development was released for two years.

In 2003, Andy Ruhan of Bridgewaters Capital was found as a partner and papers were signed in 2004." [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=30 Hampton Sell Arena Central] " - Skyscrapernews.com, February 28, 2003 (Accessed March 18, 2007)] In December 2004, planning permission, which would have run out for the tower in February 2005, was extended to December 2010.

Redesign and a new proposal

Early history

Due to the problems the project encountered, a new masterplan was being produced and Australian company, Multiplex was awarded the contract for construction of the tower. [" [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=191 Mulitplex To Get Arena Central Contract] " - Skyscrapernews.com, July 22, 2004 (Accessed March 18, 2007)] [" [http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101159 Arena Central Tower back on track] " - Emporis.com, July 20, 2004 (Accessed March 18, 2007)] The masterplan was unveiled in 2006 however did not specifically outline the details of individual buildings. A model of the tower was present in the models, however, the detail and the roof feature were not on the images released. The shape of the tower in the models confirmed that the design by HOK Architects was not to be used. It was described as going to appear as if it "is squeezed in the middle creating two bulges."

A news article in the Estate Gazette on June 17 2006 stated that the height of the tower will be 175 metres and the Civil Aviation Authority agreed that they would not have any problems with the tower if it was 175 metres tall however they would have to comment on the planning application if it did go any taller. Other news articles have also said that the tower will be of 47 storeys however whether this is in reference to the old design or the new design is unknown.

In September 2006, it was revealed that despite Miller producing profits, the construction would be delayed yet again. [" [http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/business/tm_method=full%26objectid=17743686%26siteid=50002-name_page.html Miller group figures up again] " - Birmingham Post, September 14, 2006 (Accessed March 18, 2007)] It was also revealed that the tower will be the first constructed part of the development due to the lack of demolition needed on the site.

On February 12 2007, Arena Central Developments were granted a 250 year lease on the land by Birmingham City Council. [" [http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_method=full%26objectid=18615452%26siteid=50002-name_page.html City's tallest building granted lease] " - Birmingham Post, February 13, 2007 (Accessed March 18, 2007)]

Team

Eric Kuhne of Eric R Kuhne & Associates and Civic Arts Architects was appointed by Dandara Ltd to design the form, the façades, the public realm, the lobbies, and commercial tenancies of the tower. The apartments and the technical delivery have been designed by Scott Brownrigg Architects, who Eric Kuhne and Civic Arts Architects collaborated with.

The design is revealed

The first indication of the design of the tower were revealed on the Pipers Models website. The website presented images of a model of the building that had been produced for the developers to be unveiled at the upcoming MIPIM show in Cannes. The design shown was different from what was quoted as having been "squeezed in the middle creating two bulges". Instead the design featured a tower of a 'V' shape rising from the base.

The tower was unveiled at the MIPIM show in Cannes, France in March 2007. It had changed it's name from Arena Central Tower/ Arena Square Tower to V Building highlighting the 'V' shape on the Suffolk Street Queensway elevation. [" [http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/tm_headline=a-v-exciting-new-look-for-brum&method=full&objectid=18750626&siteid=50002-name_page.html A v-exciting new look for Brum] " - Birmingham Mail, March 14, 2007 (Accessed March 18, 2007)] [" [http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=736&storycode=3083190&c=3&encCode=00000000012b6a3f Kuhne's Arena Central tower unveiled at MIPIM] " - Building, March 15, 2007 (Accessed March 18, 2007)] It was initially quoted as having 50 storeys and being 150 metres tall. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6450353.stm City's tallest skyscraper on show] " - BBC News, March 14, 2007 (Accessed March 18, 2007)]

The detailed planning application for the tower was submitted to the Birmingham City Council Planning Department on June 13 2007 by agents Aims Ltd. [" [http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101822 The V Building goes into planning] - Emporis.com, 2007-06-20 (Accessed 13 July 2007)] The planning application for the tower also contained changes to the masterplan for the site. The proposal was described as:

Erection of new tower to include flats, restaurant & bar together with landscaping, car parking & means of access. Updated masterplan for the Arena Central site, bound by Broad Street, Suffolk Street Queensway, Holliday Street & Bridge Street, in accordance with condition 3 attached to application No. C/04238/97/OUT

The tower was approved by Birmingham City Council Planning Department on October 4, 2007. It was reported by the Birmingham Post that it took two minutes for the councillors to make the decision. Construction of the tower is expected to begin in early 2008 for completion in 2013. [" [http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_headline=v-building-gets-the-go-ahead%26method=full%26objectid=19895670%26siteid=50002-name_page.html V Building gets the go-ahead] " - Birmingham Post, October 4 2007 (Accessed October 5, 2007)]

Design

The design of the tower had changed slightly from what was revealed at the MIPIM show in Cannes. The exterior of the building was a mixture of cladding with bars running across the windows, [ [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/picturedisplay.php?ref=5155&idi=The+V+Building&self=nse&selfidi=5155TheVBuilding_pic2.jpg&no=2 Skyscrapernews: V Tower Render] ] however, this was changed when the new renders for the tower were revealed after the submission of the planning application. The new renders showed the exterior to brighter in colour. [ [http://www.building.co.uk/story_attachment.asp?storycode=3089830&seq=1&type=P&c=1 Building: V Building render] ]

The planning application explained that the reasoning behind the height decrease from 175 metres to 147 metres was due to the refusal from the adjacent hotel building, Crowne Plaza, to move out of their building and be given hotel space in the new tower, which would have increased the height to 175 metres. The owners of Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, submitted a planning application prior to the application for V Building to refurbish the hotel.

At street level, near the entrance, is a plaza area which will consist of vertical concrete slabs with inscriptions written into them. The first two floors will be of double height, containing a restaurant and lounge for residents. The second floor will be cantilevered over the entrance. Beneath these will be two storey underground car park. The footprint was decreased in size from that of the tower approved in the 2000 masterplan. This was to compliment the residential use of the building, which had been proposed as mixed-use in the 2000 masterplan.

Whilst the roof height is 147 metres, the façade overrun increases the overall height to 152 metres. The roof line has a serrated edge. On the 50th floor will be a sky bar with a public viewing platform, which will extend to a height of three stories, above which will be a plant room. There will be a total of 706 apartment units in the tower, 60 of which will be serviced suites. Facilities for the residents include a lounge on the ground floor and a library. Residents will have their own entrance to the building. This will provide access to the residents reading room. A hotel-style lobby of convert|3000|sqft|m2|abbr=on will provide public access to the three restaurants and top floor sky bar.

ee also

*List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham

References

* "Planning application number C/03635/07/RES" (submitted 13/06/2007)
* [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=5155 Skyscrapernews.com's entry on the current tower]
* [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=117 Skyscrapernews.com's entry on the old tower]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101702 Birmingham finally set for new heights with The V Building] - Emporis.com (submitted 16/03/2007)
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101822 The V Building goes into planning] - Emporis.com (submitted 20/06/2007)

External links

* [http://www.thevbuilding.com/ The V Building website]
* [http://www.arena-central.com/ Official website of Arena Central]
* [http://www.dandara.com/ Dandara Website]
* [http://www.miller.co.uk/mediacentre/projects_details.asp?ID=422 Miller Group project page]
* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=3180&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=1338 Birmingham.gov.uk]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=295037 Emporis.com] - Building ID - 295037