The Beetham Group's latest skyscraper, by Ian Simpson Architects, is a towering presence on Birmingham's Holloway Circus with a Radisson SAS hotel occupying its lower floors.
Between them Ian Simpson Architects, their client The Beetham Group, and Radisson SAS appear to be on a mission to change the skylines of the UK's major provincial cities, each of them the tallest residential buildings in their respective cities, and each with a significant hotel component on their lower floors.
In fact none of the above is entirely true. The architects for the first Beetham Tower, in Liverpool, were actually Aedas not Ian Simpson Architects. The hotel operator for their latest tower is Hilton, not Radisson SAS. And their next major project is in London, not the provinces.
But you get the idea, and it is in Birmingham that this triumvirate have come together to create 40 Holloway Circus - a 120 metre, 40-storey, 40m mixed use development comprising a 220-bed Radisson SAS and over 150 apartments.
When complete, the Manchester Beetham Tower will be Europe's tallest residential building. But this accolade would have fallen to the Birmingham tower had it not been for the building's proximity to Birmingham International
Airport. New Civil Aviation Authority guidelines brought in after 9/11 meant initial plans for a 192m tower had to be scaled down by 50 metres. Beetham's proposal had won out over a two-tower plan submitted by Cala Homes but parts of the original design, which included 'sky gardens' set amidst large spires on the roof, had to be abandoned.
The building which has resulted may be stunted by comparison but it still towers over everything else in Birmingham, except the BT tower.
Closer to ground level, as you approach from New Street station, the curved facade of the building follows the gentle sweep of Holloway Circus.
But where Birmingham's road network sprawls out beneath like a bowl of cooked spaghetti, the Holloway Circus tower stands tall and proud, the only disruption to its straight lines being the penthouses which step out from the main facade at level 37 to create a belvedere with views south towards the Malvern Hills.
The turquoise fritted surface, with its tiger print patterning, is designed to provide colour, reflection and solar protection - although this being Birmingham the exterior tends to reflect concrete and cloud more often than it does dazzling sunlight.
Beneath the vast glazed expanses of the building's skin, the core of the building itself is concrete. Jumpform was used for the core construction with post-tensioned concrete floors following three to four storeys behind. As well as time and cost savings this also allowed extra floors to be built at the top of the tower.
The construction of the tower was no mean feat. A small enclosed footprint, right by a busy road junction allowed for only one crane and no scaffolding, restrictions which dictated the choice of construction method.
Inside, the Radisson SAS hotel occupies the first 18 floors of the tower.
The gentle curve of the faade is carried through to the corridors used to access the 211 guestrooms. The walls are lined with padded silk in dark red and brown linear stripes, complemented the linear motif of the red carpets. Strip lighting is set at angles to mimic the curve of the buildings and guide guests to their rooms.
The rooms are designed in three styles: 'Fresh' (on floors 5-7), 'Fashion' (floors 8-10), and 'Chic', (floors 11-18). The schemes are a reprise of those developed by Italian designer Mattheo Thun for the Radisson SAS in Frankfurt (Sleeper Spring 2006).
'Fresh' rooms feature a floral carpet motif in red and blue; gold-framed, Art Deco style desk, bedside table and chair; plus large beds with white, padded-leather headboards. 'Chic' rooms are more muted in browns, purples and creams, but the most striking by far are the 'Fashion' rooms, whose brightly coloured stripes offer a taste of things to come when Rezidor SAS's partnership with Italian fashion label Missoni eventually bears fruit.
By comparison, the public areas are restrained - partly because much of the design for these areas had already been established by Ian Simpson Architects before Radisson were signed as operators of the hotel. The ground floor lobby and bar features Radisson's trademark floating reception desks, clad in alabaster - as is the stone-topped bar. Walls are clad from floor to ceiling in tactile velvet and silk. Floors are pale limestone. From here, the first floor Filini restaurant, serving Mediterranean and Sardinian cuisine, is accessed via a stone staircase with an eyecatching arragement of layered mirrors on the ceiling.
The feel is rustic yet modern with walnut floors, an open kitchen at one end and a wood-fired pizza oven at the other.
The linear arrangement of the the low slung contemporary furnishings (wicker tub seating from B&B Italia, wool-and-silk mix dining chairs, huge banquettes) is punctuated with raw concrete pillars, mandarin tree planters, and taking centre stage, a glass-encased wine feature. This pinecone-shaped structure is constructed from weaved warped timber held together with metal plates, and accommodates some 200 bottles of wine.
The hotel's crowning glory is a 700-per-night 80m2 Presidential Suite. Unsurprisingly, given the business clientele who will no doubt use this facility, the 'Chic' design scheme has been used here rather than challenging their tastes with the more in-your-face 'Fresh' or 'Fashion'.
A health and fitness centre, with gym, sauna and treatment rooms, is also situated on the top floor of the hotel, whilst back on the lower levels, there is an extensive suite of meeting rooms with names inspired by Birmingham's industrial heritage: Water (after its canals), Mini (its cars), and Chocolate. Others are named after Brum inventions: Light (in reference to James Watt), Steam (engines) and Oxygen (anaesthetic). Judging by Sleeper's visit to the property these rooms will see some heavy traffic. Birmingham has always had robust conference and exhibition business.
But given its renaissance as a cultural and leisure destination, heralded by the arrival of developments such as the Mailbox and the Bulling, it is surpising that the city had not had a new upscale hotel in over three years. Now that Radisson SAS, Beetham and Ian Simpson Architects have put that to rights, for Birmingham, it seems, the only way is up.
