The Construction of Three Arena Central (HMRC) - June 2019

Construction continues at a pace with the steel structure complete and the hexagon sub-cladding and windows installed to nearly half way up. Dull weather for this update but some nice angles and perspectives from around the site.

Photos by Daniel Sturley

The Construction of Bank Tower Two - June 2019

Some of the cladding has been installed to the top and is starting to show how the tower will reflect the sunlight, the top two floors having more stripes than the rest and are larger, higher floors.

Photos by Daniel Sturley

Fascinating tour round 'The Gothic' and Great Hampton Street Project with Blackswan

We were delighted to be shown round 'The Gothic' and the Blackswan scheme at 1-4 Great Hampton Street. Fascinating plans for this site involve retaining so much of the wonderful history and architecture of 'The Gothic' for people to enjoy in the future! Thanks to the amazing team at BlackSwan for the opportunity to experience this project so early.

On Wednesday 29th May we made a visit to the site of the former Gothic pub on Great Hampton Street in the St Pauls/Jewellery Quarter area of the city.

The Gothic is one part of a whole development stretching over 3/4 ajoining buildings on Great Hampton Street.

The plans for the site will include a hi-end restaurant, quality rooms and apartments as well as 2 social venues with courtyards to the rear.

We will run a separate post with further details of the amazing plans by BlackSwan.

Below are a selection of images showing some of the orignal art deco features inside the property, something we were ensured would be retained by the new development which in huge part is aiming to simply strip the sites back to their orignal features architecture wise and highlight them moving forward.

All photos by Karl Newton

Much more to come as we follow this exciting project through to completion early in 2020. 

An illuminated crown to light up the City skyline in Birmingham!

With the cladding inching closer to completion, Stephen Giles looks at the distinctive two-storey crown feature that'll top off this momentous development.

The silver cladding continues its upward rise, and with the interior meticulously being fitted out, attention is quickly turning to the distinctive two-storey crown feature at the very top.

Excitingly, it will incorporate a new addition to the city’s skyline – an illuminated crown.

It came about after Regal Property Group, the developer, saw an opportunity to enhance the project by adding an extra two storeys, taking it from 31 to 33 floors. 

Not only did this see the building whiz past the 100 metre mark (102m), but it allowed the architects to produce a design that gave the project further distinction, given that it will sit proudly on the skyline for years to come. 

Glancy Nicholls have designed this to acknowledge the silverworks metal working heritage of Broad Street from yesteryear. The tower already takes subtle nods from that, referencing it with its silver hues in its design and materiality.

Artist Impressions by Glancy Nicholls Architects

The crown has seen an increase in silver frame bars/spindles, with strips of vertical blue lighting, which will further define the crown and give Bank II an imposing identity.

Once complete, the building will boast recessed LED lighting, and given the site location, on what is one of the tallest plots of land in the city, it'll be instantly recognisable for miles around.

Artist impressions by Glancy Nicholls Architects

June 1st construction update:

Picture by Aqueembayor

Photos by Stephen Giles

GREATER BIRMINGHAM DEVELOPMENTS: TWITTER & INSTAGRAM

Introducing Karl Newton - a photographer with a real passion for Birmingham

FreeTimePays is delighted to welcome Karl as a contributor at FreeTimePays.

Hello all

There has been a delay until now, but, I am finally online and part of this community.

My name is Karl W Newton and I am a brummie photographer with.a growing reputation.  I started dedicating myself to my art officaly in 2017 and since then I have held 2 solo exhibitions in the city, been published in one of the big national magazines, had my work featured on ITV central news 3 times, sold several pieces of my work, been commisoned to produce work, become an offical stock contributor for Getty, ShutterStock & Dreamstime and recently published my first photography book.

Looking forward to connecting with you guys alot more moving forward , below are a selection of my favourite photographs from the last 6 months or so