The Birmingham Post and Mail building was constructed in the 1960s and was a symbol of the rebuilding of Birmingham, England, following the devastation of World War II.
Designed in 1960 by John H.D. Madin and Partners (partner in charge, D.V. Smith, project architects Ronald E. Cordin and Ramon K. Wood). It was one of the earliest buildings to follow the podium and slab block form of architecture inspired by Lever House in New York City and it became the oldest example of such architecture in the UK once the Castrol Building in London had been redeveloped. It was home to the Birmingham Post and Evening Mail newspapers following its completion in 1964.
The tower had a concrete core surrounded by a steel structure designed by Structural Engineers (Roy Bolsover and Associates) who were also the engineers on many other landmark buildings in the Birmingham area during this period. The tower was clad in aluminium. The concrete beams in the podium were clad in black Argentinegranite enclosing fillets of white Sicilianmarble.
At the time of completion, it was hailed as great achievement by Douglas Hickman in his book Birmingham published in 1970 on buildings in Birmingham. John H.D. Madin and Partners used it as their greatest achievement along with Birmingham Central Library which was completed ten years after the Post and Mail building.
The entrance hall to the tower was located at the left hand end of the podium. To the left of the editorial block is the printing works with a composing room at top, a two-storey publishing area below it, and a machine hall in a deep basement.
Demolition and redevelopmentedit
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2017)
Phase 1 completed, 2015
During the building's lifetime, two attempts to give it listed status failed and demolition began. Demolition consisted of an excavator being placed on the top of the building and excavating through the building's core. It was deemed unsafe to destroy the building through explosives due to the listed buildings nearby and the disruption it would cause to transport links.
The original building was demolished between 2005 and 2006. The new development was undertaken by Chatham Billingham Investments and incorporated a below ground 752-space car park, 31,600 sq.ft of retail space, 7-storeys of grade A office space (245,630 sq.ft), and 7-storeys of residential space including for 115 apartments and 10 penthouse apartments.[1] The first phase of the redevelopment was undertaken by Balfour Beatty Construction, which included the below ground car park levels, and 3 above ground floors including for a new arcade and the retail spaces, as well as future shell and core entrances for the future offices and residential floors. The work was largely completed by summer 2015 with the car park open for business shortly thereafter.
Planning approval for the future phases (phase 2) was granted by Birmingham City Council in July 2015.[1] Construction work is expected to restart in 2016 with completion expected to be in 2018.
^ ab"Birmingham Post article". 24 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birmingham Post and Mail building.
Birmingham Post & Mail Redevelopment
The Birmingham Post and Mail Building
January 01, 1970
post, mail, building, birmingham, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Post and Mail building Birmingham news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message The Birmingham Post and Mail building was constructed in the 1960s and was a symbol of the rebuilding of Birmingham England following the devastation of World War II Birmingham Post and Mail BuildingThe corner of the remaining building General informationTypeOfficeArchitectural styleModernistLocationColmore Circus Birmingham EnglandCoordinates52 29 1 57 N 1 53 46 04 W 52 4837694 N 1 8961222 W 52 4837694 1 8961222Completed1964 1964 Demolished2005 2005 Height67 metres 220 ft Technical detailsFloor count16Design and constructionArchitect s John Madin Contents 1 Construction and lifetime 2 Demolition and redevelopment 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksConstruction and lifetime edit nbsp Partial demolition in progress September 2005 Designed in 1960 by John H D Madin and Partners partner in charge D V Smith project architects Ronald E Cordin and Ramon K Wood It was one of the earliest buildings to follow the podium and slab block form of architecture inspired by Lever House in New York City and it became the oldest example of such architecture in the UK once the Castrol Building in London had been redeveloped It was home to the Birmingham Post and Evening Mail newspapers following its completion in 1964 The tower had a concrete core surrounded by a steel structure designed by Structural Engineers Roy Bolsover and Associates who were also the engineers on many other landmark buildings in the Birmingham area during this period The tower was clad in aluminium The concrete beams in the podium were clad in black Argentine granite enclosing fillets of white Sicilian marble At the time of completion it was hailed as great achievement by Douglas Hickman in his book Birmingham published in 1970 on buildings in Birmingham John H D Madin and Partners used it as their greatest achievement along with Birmingham Central Library which was completed ten years after the Post and Mail building The entrance hall to the tower was located at the left hand end of the podium To the left of the editorial block is the printing works with a composing room at top a two storey publishing area below it and a machine hall in a deep basement Demolition and redevelopment editThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information September 2017 nbsp Phase 1 completed 2015 During the building s lifetime two attempts to give it listed status failed and demolition began Demolition consisted of an excavator being placed on the top of the building and excavating through the building s core It was deemed unsafe to destroy the building through explosives due to the listed buildings nearby and the disruption it would cause to transport links The original building was demolished between 2005 and 2006 The new development was undertaken by Chatham Billingham Investments and incorporated a below ground 752 space car park 31 600 sq ft of retail space 7 storeys of grade A office space 245 630 sq ft and 7 storeys of residential space including for 115 apartments and 10 penthouse apartments 1 The first phase of the redevelopment was undertaken by Balfour Beatty Construction which included the below ground car park levels and 3 above ground floors including for a new arcade and the retail spaces as well as future shell and core entrances for the future offices and residential floors The work was largely completed by summer 2015 with the car park open for business shortly thereafter Planning approval for the future phases phase 2 was granted by Birmingham City Council in July 2015 1 Construction work is expected to restart in 2016 with completion expected to be in 2018 See also editList of tallest buildings and structures in BirminghamReferences edit a b Birmingham Post article 24 July 2015 Retrieved 30 December 2015 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birmingham Post and Mail building The Twentieth Century Society org Birmingham Post and Mail building Emporis entry Post and Mail building Birmingham Birmingham Post amp Mail Redevelopment The Birmingham Post and Mail Building Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Post and Mail building Birmingham amp oldid 1215007003, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
