Brindleyplace

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Brindleyplace 3, seen from the main square
The Birmingham Canal by the International Convention Center, and Brindleyplace (on the right)

Brindleyplace is an urban renewal project in the center of Birmingham on the site of old factories and canals. It is often mistakenly spelled Brindley Place, after a street there that is also named after the 18th century canal engineer James Brindley .

Brindleyplace has shops, bars, restaurants but also educational facilities, such as the National Sea Life Center. It has a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland , the BRMB radio station and the renowned Ikon Gallery . The overall project comprises 69,000 m² of mixed use and is considered the largest revitalization project in Great Britain. Adjacent, but on the other side of the Birmingham Canal Network canal, is the International Convention Center.

history

With the decline of British industry in the 1970s, the factories in what is now Brindleyplace were also closed. The result was decades of decline. Similar to other water-related industrial and port areas, there were also these waterfront in the center of the created by James Brindley Narrowboat - channel system the chance of tertiary conversion. The corresponding plans of the city council date from the 1980s. The successes with the International Convention Center, Birmingham, with the Symphony Hall, and the National Indoor Arena strengthened the city government in its plans. Merlin (later replaced by Rosehaugh) and Shearwater appeared as the first investors. Rosehaugh paid £ 26 million for the site in 1990. Rosehaugh also revised the retail-oriented concept of Merlin in the direction of more office space and living space. The detailed concept was in place in 1992, but in view of the real estate crisis in the early 1990s , Rosebaugh got into extreme financial difficulties and became insolvent. The project was ultimately taken over and implemented by the Argent company in 1993. In 1995 the real estate crisis was over and the land value was again over £ 25 million.

Architectural style

The master plan was drawn up by the post-modern architecture firm Terry Farrell , but care was taken to achieve structural diversity by involving different architects. Some of the existing buildings were also converted - the Ikon Gallery was once a Victorian school.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BirminghamUK: Brindleyplace (Engl.)

Web links

Commons : Brindleyplace  - collection of images, videos and audio files