Alpha Tower
| Alpha Tower | |
|---|---|
| File:The Alpha Tower, Birmingham - DSC08757.JPG | |
| Lua error in Module:Infobox_mapframe at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial |
| Architectural style | Modernism |
| Location | Birmingham, England, Suffolk Street Queensway |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Construction started | 1969 |
| Completed | 1973 |
| Owner | Anglo Scandinavian Estates Group |
| Height | 100 m (330 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 28 |
| Floor area |
|
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | George Marsh |
| Architecture firm | Richard Seifert & Partners |
| Awards and prizes | Grade II listed, Grade A locally listed |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 31 July 2014 |
| Reference no. | 1420049 |
| References | |
| [1][2] | |
Alpha Tower is a Grade II listed office skyscraper in Birmingham, England. It was designed by the Birmingham-born architect George Marsh[1] of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV (Associated Television) and part of the company's production studio complex known as ATV Centre, an adjacent shorter tower was planned but was never built. ATV closed in 1982, after which the building became offices.
At 100 m (330 ft), as of 2023 it is the eighth-tallest building in Birmingham, and became the second-tallest office building in Birmingham after 103 Colmore Row (108 m (354 ft)) was topped out in 2020.
Building and architecture
[edit | edit source]It is a Grade A locally listed building. It was nominated for listed building status by the Twentieth Century Society in 2002, although the owners applied for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing. However, English Heritage added Alpha Tower to the National Heritage List for England on 31 July 2014.[3]
According to English Heritage:[1]
The building is one of the most aesthetically successful office buildings in Birmingham with a shaped outline and careful detailing giving it a dynamic forcefulness. Its design successfully combined several ideas into a powerful and elegant building which soon became, and has continued to be, one of the most popular landmarks of the rebuilding of Birmingham city centre in the mid 20th century.
Ownership
[edit | edit source]In the early 1990s the building was owned by Ellerman Investments - in turn owned by the Barclay Brothers.
Arena Central Developments sold the building to Catalyst's European Property Fund in 2008 for £42.5 million. Birmingham City Council left tenancy in 2010 leaving the building 77% void. Nationwide Building Society put the building into receivership in 2012 and put it on the market for £10.25 million in 2013.[4]
The building was bought for £14million in February 2014 by Anglo Scandinavian Estates Group who were set to invest £9 million in a refurbishment of the building.[5] In September 2023, The Business Desk reported that the refurbishment had been completed at the cost of £16.6 million.[6]
Occupancy
[edit | edit source]In 1999, Birmingham City Council secured a lease deal to occupy the building's office space, as they were in the process of moving out from the Baskerville House.[7] Subsequently, the council took a large tenancy of the building in 2000.[8][9] They vacated in 2010.[4]
In popular culture
[edit | edit source]The tower featured in the Cliff Richard film Take Me High (1973) for both exterior and interior shots.[5][10]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- BirminghamUK.com
- Skyscrapernews.com's entry Archived 4 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
