Birmingham's New Street Station has been broken and remade many times since 1854, surviving wartime bombing and rebuilding into the transport hub it is today. Now its rooftop drum, once the home of a department store, is poised to be reimagined as a place of work, food and gathering for thousands of people. Whether the city's planners will accept that vision next week will decide if an old shell of retail gives way to a new kind of urban life, one that brings daily routines closer together.
Grand Central's Drum Reimagined as 2,000-Desk Office and Leisure Hub, Pending Council Approval
The old John Lewis store was rather dark and gloomy.
Mark
So what is actually being proposed for the Drum?
Mimi
Mostly offices. Developers say space for over 2,000 people across four levels, plus a restaurant, bar, food market, grocery store, gym and an events area.
Mark
And the building itself stays?
Mimi
The drum shape is kept but stripped back. The old John Lewis store was dark, so a big glass atrium at the fourth level is meant to let light in.
Luke
Worth noting that the 2,000 figure is the developers' own. Nothing here says how many jobs or tenants are actually lined up.
Mark
Who is behind it?
Mimi
Hammerson owns the site and co-owns the Bullring and Grand Central. Make designed it, the same architects as The Cube and 1 Centenary Square.
Mark
Why the talk of a 15-minute city?
Mimi
The concept borrows the idea of having offices, food, wellbeing and culture close together, popularised by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in 2020.
Luke
Borrowing the idea is not the same as delivering it. The reporting doesn't say how it would work in practice, or whether housing is part of this at all.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The planning committee meets on March 16. If approved, construction is hoped to finish in 2025.
Luke
Hoped is the key word. Approval isn't confirmed, and the 2025 date depends on it.
El Pulso
- A hollow drum of old retail sits above a busy station, waiting for a verdict that could change how it is used.
- Developer Hammerson proposes filling the space with offices for over 2,000 workers, plus restaurants, a gym and a rooftop garden.
- Architects Make are trying to keep the original drum while cutting it open with a glass atrium to banish the gloom of the old store.
- The plan goes before Birmingham City Council's planning committee on March 16, and if approved, work is hoped to finish by 2025.
Birmingham's New Street Station has been broken and remade many times since 1854, surviving wartime bombing and rebuilding into the transport hub it is today. Now its rooftop drum, once the home of a department store, is poised to be reimagined as a place of work, food and gathering for thousands of people. Whether the city's planners will accept that vision next week will decide if an old shell of retail gives way to a new kind of urban life, one that brings daily routines closer together.
Birmingham New Street Station has been rebuilt more than once since it opened in 1854. It was a target during the Blitz, and its Grand Central redevelopment was completed in 2015. Now the drum-shaped structure on its roof, once home to the John Lewis store, is the subject of a new proposal that goes before the city council's planning committee next Thursday, March 16.
The developers, Hammerson, want to turn the drum mainly into offices for more than 2,000 people across four levels. The scheme also brings a restaurant, a bar, a food market, a grocery store, a gym and an events space where cinema screenings or art exhibitions might run. A wildlife garden would crown the rooftop.
The old building is being kept and reworked rather than replaced. Its interior is to be stripped back, with a large glass atrium on the fourth level to let in light where the former store was dark and gloomy, and a spiral staircase linking the third floor to the rooftop. Architects Make, who also designed The Cube and 1 Centenary Square, want to honour the city's industrial past with exposed steel and concrete and railway-age lighting and furniture.
The concept draws on the idea of the 15-minute city, where homes, work, leisure and services sit close enough to reach on foot. If the committee gives its approval, construction is hoped to be complete in 2025.
Birmingham New Street Station has been rebuilt, bombed and rebuilt again since it opened in 1854. It was a target for German bombers during the Blitz, and its Grand Central redevelopment was completed in 2015. Now the drum-shaped structure on its roof is the subject of a new plan, and it goes before Birmingham City Council's planning committee next Thursday, March 16.
The proposal would turn the drum, once home to the John Lewis store, mainly into office space. Developers say the new workplace would hold more than 2,000 people across four levels. Offices are not the whole picture, though. The scheme also includes a hospitality zone with a restaurant, a bar and a food market, along with a grocery store, a gym and other well-being spaces, and an events area.
The rooftop would add more workspace and a wildlife garden. It would also have an events space where the developers imagine cinema screenings or art exhibitions.
The approach is to reuse as much of the original retail structure as possible. The drum-shaped building would be kept and enhanced, which is where the name comes from, but stripped back so that more light gets in. The old John Lewis store was rather dark and gloomy. The new design adds a large glass atrium at the fourth level to brighten the interior, and a large spiral staircase would link the third floor with the fourth-floor rooftop area.
Hammerson is the developer behind the plans. It owns the site and co-owns and manages both the Bullring and Grand Central shopping centres. It is also the company behind the long-running plans to regenerate The Square shopping centre on Corporation Street. The design comes from the architects Make, who also designed two of Birmingham's best-known buildings: The Cube at the Mailbox complex, and 1 Centenary Square on Broad Street, home to HSBC UK.
The developers say they want to pay homage to the city's industrial heritage. Exposed steel and concrete would line the inside of the building, alongside furniture and lighting inspired by the golden age of the railway.
The concept also borrows from the idea of the 15-minute city, which rose to prominence after Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo made it the centrepiece of her 2020 re-election campaign. The idea is that residents need to travel only minimally between housing, offices, restaurants, parks, hospitals and cultural venues.
If the committee approves the plans next week, the hope is that construction will be completed in 2025.
Citas Notables
Developers say they want to pay homage to Birmingham's industrial heritage.— Developers, as reported by Birmingham Live
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