List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham

This list of tallest buildings in Birmingham ranks skyscrapers and other structures by height in Birmingham, England.

High-rise development in Birmingham was most active during the post-war development phase of the 1960s when many box-shaped, concrete towers were constructed; this included many tower blocks housing flats. These towers are now either being demolished or renovated; for instance, The Rotunda on New Street has undergone a dramatic makeover.

High-rise development slowed during the 1980s and early 1990s, but is increasing again with the recent completion of 10 Holloway Circus and the Orion Building and many proposed projects in development areas such as the Eastside. Many of these new high-rises contain residential properties, which are promoting city living. The Snowhill development will also dramatically increase the office space available in the city centre; Birmingham hopes to capitalise on its recent good fortunes of attracting overseas investment. The planned High Speed 2 railway linking London to Birmingham and beyond will be an additional marketing tool that Birmingham will hope to capitalise on. There are three buildings that have been approved for construction which are taller than 10 Holloway Circus, which is currently the tallest habitable building in Birmingham.

In recent years, Birmingham City Council has relaxed its attitude towards tall skyscrapers. However, some restrictions remain. The city centre is located on a 361 ft (110m) sandstone ridge and as a result, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has imposed a maximum building height limit at 794 ft (242m). Prospects of building between 427 ft (130m) to 574 ft (175m) would normally require consultation with Birmingham Airport. Skyscraper proposals with heights between 574 ft (175m) to 794 ft (242m) would require consultation with the CAA.^[1] It is not known why these restrictions are in place, considering the fact that the city centre is not on the approach path to the airport.

There are currently two skyscrapers with a height of 100 metres (328 ft) or more,^[2] and 191 high-rise buildings with a height of at least 35 metres (115 ft) or more.^[3]

The skyline of Birmingham City Centre in June 2012.

Tallest buildings and structures

This list ranks externally complete Birmingham buildings and free-standing structures that stand more than 50 metres (164 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. Buildings that have been demolished are not included.

Rank	Name	Use	Image	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
1	BT Tower	Telecommunication		152	499		1966		[4]
2	10 Holloway Circus	Hotel/Residential		130	427	40	2005	52°16′59″N 1°32′26″W / 52.283146°N 1.54059°W	[5]
3	Alpha Tower	Office		100	328	28	1973	52°17′03″N 1°32′32″W / 52.2843°N 1.5423°W	[6]
4	Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower	Clock Tower		99	325		1908		[7]
5=	Orion Building	Residential		90	295	28	2007	52°17′02″N 1°32′54″W / 52.283895°N 1.54847°W	[8]
5=	Clydesdale Tower	Residential		90	295	32	1972	52°28′28″N 1°54′05″W / 52.47449°N 1.90132°W	[9]
5=	Cleveland Tower	Residential		90	295	32	1971	52°28′28″N 1°54′05″W / 52.47449°N 1.90132°W	[10]
8	The Rotunda	Residential		81	266	23	1965	52°17′03″N 1°32′04″W / 52.284203°N 1.534340°W	[11]
9=	103 Colmore Row	Office		80	262	23	1976	52°17′06″N 1°32′44″W / 52.285114°N 1.54549°W	[12]
9=	Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant	Chimney		80	262	1996			[13]
11=	Centre City Tower	Office		76	249	21	1975	52°17′00″N 1°32′08″W / 52.283366°N 1.535461°W	[14]
11=	Five Ways Tower	Office		76	249	22	1979	52°16′54″N 1°32′45″W / 52.281674°N 1.545878°W	[15]
13=	Hyatt Regency	Hotel		75	246	24	1990	52°28′41″N 1°54′32″W / 52.477933°N 1.908907°W	[16]
13=	Two Snowhill	Office		75	246	15	2013	52°28′41″N 1°54′32″W / 52.477933°N 1.908907°W	[17]
15	1 Snow Hill Plaza	Hotel		72	236	20	1973	52°17′43″N 1°32′07″W / 52.29539°N 1.535394°W	[18]
16	The Cube	Office/Residential/Commercial		70.4	231	23	2010	52°28′30″N 1°54′25″W / 52.4750°N 1.9070°W	[19]
17=	Londonderry House	Residential/Car Park		70	230	17			[20]
17=	Colmore Gate	Office		70	230	15	1992	52°17′08″N 1°32′06″W / 52.285665°N 1.534948°W	[21]
17=	Quayside Tower	Office		70	230	19	1965	52°17′02″N 1°32′38″W / 52.283803°N 1.543963°W	[22]
20=	The McLaren Building	Office		69	226	21	1979	52°17′08″N 1°32′00″W / 52.285546°N 1.533231°W	[23]
20=	Metropolitan House	Office		69	226	19	1974	52°16′56″N 1°33′04″W / 52.282345°N 1.551061°W	[24]
20=	Edgbaston House	Office		69	226	18	1976	52°16′56″N 1°33′11″W / 52.282252°N 1.552945°W	[25]
23	Midland Building	Office		67	220	17			[26]
24	Bank House	Office		66	217	20	1967		[27]
25	Brindley House	Mixed		65	213	18	1967		[28]
26=	Fifty4 Hagley Road	Office		64	210	18			[29]
26=	Cumberland House	Office		64	210	18			[30]
28=	Centenary Plaza	Residential		63	207	20	2002		[31]
28=	Queen Elizabeth Hospital	Public Facility		63	207	14	2006
30=	Muirhead Tower	University		62	203	15	1971		[32]
30=	Hagley House	Office		62	203	17	1965		[33]
32=	St Martin in the Bull Ring	Place of Worship		61	200	N/A	1855		[34]
32=	Trident House	Residential		61	200	19	1981		[35]
32=	Jurys Inn	Hotel		61	200	18	1975		[36]
35=	Library of Birmingham	Library		60	197	10	2013		[37]
35=	Aston Student Village Phase I	Residential		60	197	18	2010		[38]
35=	Aston Student Village Phase II	Residential		60	197	18	2013		[39]
38=	Briarley	Residential		59	194	21	1966		[40]
38=	Churchill House	Residential		59	194	21	1966		[41]
38=	Windsor House	Office		59	194	14			[42]
38=	Lloyd House	Office		59	194	13			[43]
38=	Lyndon House	Office		59	194	17			[44]
38=	Clyde Tower	Residential		59	194	20	1967		[45]
38=	11 Brindleyplace	Office		59	194	13	2008
45=	Auchinleck House	Mixed		58	190	13	1964		[46]
45=	Church of St Peter and St Paul	Place of Worship		58	190	N/A	1480		[47]
45=	Barry Jackson Tower	Residential		58	190	20	1972		[48]
48=	Warstone Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[49]
48=	One Snowhill	Mixed		57	187	12	2009		[50]
48=	City Centre House	Mixed		57	187	13	1965		[51]
48=	Pritchett Towers	Residential		57	187	20	1971		[52]
48=	Hodgson Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1971		[53]
48=	Sapphire Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1971		[54]
48=	Durham Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1970		[55]
48=	Studley Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1969		[56]
48=	Victor Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1969		[57]
48=	Century Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1968		[58]
48=	Holbrooke Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1968		[59]
48=	Salisbury Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1968		[60]
48=	Brinklow Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[61]
48=	Canterbury Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[62]
48=	Wickets Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[63]
48=	Wilmcote Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[64]
64	Three Brindleyplace	Mixed		55	180	13	1998		[65]
65	Block M Masshouse Circus	Residential		54.5	179	15	2011		[66]
66=	Colmore Plaza	Office		54	177	14	2008		[67]
66=	Albany House	Mixed		54	177	12	1962		[68]
68=	Norfolk Tower	Residential		52	171	18	1971		[69]
68=	Eight Brindleyplace	Mixed		52	171	14	2002		[70]
71=	Axis	Office		51	167	12			[71]
71=	1 Colmore Row	Office		51	167	12	2004		[72]

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

Under construction

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
1	Beorma Quarter	Office	107	351	27		Estimated completion: 2018.[73]
2	Chamberlain Hall	Student Accommodation	64	210	21		Estimated completion: 2015 Q4
3	Two Arena Central	Office	62	204	14		Estimated completion: 2017
4	Holiday Inn Express	Hotel	61	201	18		Estimated completion: 2016
5	No.1 Eastside Locks	Student Accommodation	60	197	17		Estimated completion: 2017

Approved

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
1	Regal Tower	Residential	200.5	658	56		Approved in 2007 (On Hold)
2	103 Colmore Row (New tower)	Office	105.5	346	26		Approved in 2015
3	Snowhill Three	Office	90	295	17		Approved in 2015
4	Arena Central Plot G	Residential	72	236	22		Approved in 2015
5	Post and Mail	Offices and residential	70	230	18		Approved in 2015[74]
6	Arena Central Plot F	Hotel	65	213	18		Approved in 2012, Holiday Inn Express
7	Left Bank	Hotel	59	193	18		Approved in 2015
8	Two Arena Central	Office	55	180	18		Approved in 2015

Proposed

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
2	Arena Central Plot E1	Residential	85.5	280	22		Proposed in 2015

Unbuilt

This lists proposals for the construction of buildings in Birmingham that were planned to rise at least 100 metres (328 ft), for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Year	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
1	VTP200	Observation Tower	200	656	10	2010		[75]
2	Arena Central Tower	Office	175	574	50	2007		The Arena Central project was originally masterplanned by HOK International in 1998. The plan called for a landmark 50-storey tower of around 245 metres (805 feet) in height, always intended to be built as one of the latter phases of the scheme. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack and after considering market forces, the developers removed 15-storeys from the planned tower.[76] Superseded by the V Building.[76]
	The Birmingham Pinnacle	Observation Tower	175	574		2008		The Pinnacle was proposed as Europe's first vertical theme park. It would have provided a range of theme park rides, an observation deck, restaurants, shops, bars and leisure facilities. Superseded by VTP200.[77]
4	Bull Ring Tower	Office	160	525	35	1990		Developed by London and Edinburgh Trust and designed by Chapman Taylor were plans that surfaced continuously between 1987 and 1990 for the redevelopment of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre in Birmingham and the demolition of the Rotunda. In the place of the Rotunda was to stand a 160 metre tall office block, a Post Modern design with Art Deco hints of a similar manner to One Liberty Place in Philadelphia. The recession at the start of the 1990s however saw the plans fail to come to fruition and the Rotunda was later listed and restored.[78]
5	V Building	Residential	152	499	51			Proposed in 2006.[79] A new but smaller scheme has been proposed in its place.[80]
6	Post and Mail Scheme (Tower 1 Scheme C)	Office	150	492	35	2010		[81]
7	Rough Diamond Hotel Tower	Hotel	120	394				[82]
	Rough Diamond Office Tower	Office	120	394				[83]
	Rough Diamond Residential Tower	Residential	120	394				[84]
10	No 1 Snow Hill Plaza	Office	118	387	29	2011		1 Snow Hill Plaza was to be constructed on the site of the Kennedy Tower, however these proposals were dropped following the collapse of the developer, Kenmore. The building that stands on the site has now been renovated and turned into a new Holiday Inn Express indicating that the proposal for a new office building is permanently dead.[85]

Demolished

This lists buildings and structures in Birmingham that were demolished or are undergoing demolition and at one time stood at least 50 metres (164 ft) in height.

Rank	Name	Use	Completed	Demolished	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
					metres	feet
1	Birmingham Post and Mail HQ	Office	1964	2005	67	222	16		The building was designed by John Madin and was one of his key modernist buildings. It was demolished in the 2005 to make way for Colmore Plaza, which stands at 54 metres (177 ft).
2	Stephenson Tower	Residential	1967	2011	63	207	20		Demolished in the summer of 2011 as part of site clearance for the redeveloped New Street railway station[86][87]
3	Wheel of Birmingham	Ferris Wheel	2004	2006	62	203			[88]
4	Dalton Tower	Residential	1971	2011	61	200	21		Demolished on 8 May 2011 in a controlled implosion as part of phase II of the Aston University student village development.[89][90]
5	Lawrence Tower	Residential	1971	2011	59	194	21		Demolished on 8 May 2011 in a controlled implosion as part of phase II of the Aston University student village development.[89][90]
6	Stafford Tower	Residential	1971	2014	58	190	21		Demolished on 27 April 2014 in a controlled implosion as part of phase II of the Aston University student village development.
7=	Cornwall Tower	Residential	1970	2014	52	171	18	52°29′36″N 1°55′00″W / 52.49323263917277°N 1.916752302498061°W	Demolished 26 October 2014[91]
7=	Normansell Tower	Residential	1972	2012	52	171	18		Demolished 2 September 2012

Timeline of tallest buildings and structures

The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower was the tallest structure in Birmingham from 1908 until 1969

This lists free-standing structures that once held the title of tallest structure in Birmingham.

Name	Location	Years as tallest	Height metres / ft	Floors	Reference
St Philip's Cathedral	Colmore Row	1725–1777 (52 years)	40 / 131	N/A	[92]
Church of SS Peter and Paul	Aston	1777–1855 (78 years)	57.9 / 190	N/A	[93]
St Martin in the Bull Ring	The Bull Ring	1855–1908 (53 years)	61 / 200	N/A	[94]
Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower	University of Birmingham	1908–1966 (58 years)	110 / 360	N/A	[95]
BT Tower	Jewellery Quarter	1966 – present	152 / 498	N/A	[96]

References

1. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=646
2. http://www.emporis.com/city/birmingham-unitedkingdom/skyscrapers
3. http://www.emporis.com/city/birmingham-unitedkingdom/existing-buildings/10
4. BT Tower
6. Alpha Tower
7. Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower
8. Orion Building
9. Clydesdale Tower
10. Cleveland Tower
11. The Rotunda
12. 103 Colmore Row
13. Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant
14. Centre City Tower
15. Five Ways Tower
16. Hyatt Regency
17. Two Snowhill
18. 1 Snow Hill Plaza
20. Londonderry House
21. Colmore Gate
22. Quayside Tower
23. The McLaren Building
24. Metropolitan House
25. Edgbaston House
26. Midland Building
27. Bank House
28. Brindley House
29. Fifty4 Hagley Road
30. Cumberland House
31. Centenary Plaza
32. Muirhead Tower
33. Hagley House
34. St Martin in the Bull Ring
35. Trident House
36. Jurys Inn
38. Block A and B
39. Block C
40. Briarley
41. Churchill House
42. Churchill House
43. Lloyd House
44. Lyndon House
45. Clyde Tower
46. Lawrence Tower
47. Church of St Peter and St Paul
48. Barry Jackson Tower
49. Warstone Tower
50. One Snowhill
51. City Centre House
52. Pritchett Towers
53. Hodgson Tower
54. Sapphire Tower
55. Durham Tower
56. Studley Tower
57. Victor Tower
58. Century Tower
59. Holbrooke Tower
60. Salisbury Tower
61. Brinklow Tower
62. Canterbury Tower
63. Wickets Tower
64. Wilmcote Tower
65. Three Brindleyplace
67. Colmore Plaza
68. Albany House
69. Norfolk Tower
70. Eight Brindleyplace
71. Axis
72. 1 Colmore Row
73. Beorma Quarter
74. "Birmingham Post article". Retrieved 30 December 2015.
75. http://www.emporis.com/building/vtp200-birmingham-united-kingdom
76. http://www.emporis.com/building/arenacentraltower-birmingham-unitedkingdom
77. http://www.emporis.com/building/the-birmingham-pinnacle-birmingham-united-kingdom
78. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=6486
79. V Building
80. http://www.egi.co.uk/news/article.aspx?id=786070
81. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=560
82. http://www.emporis.com/building/rough-diamond-hotel-tower-birmingham-united-kingdom
83. http://www.emporis.com/building/rough-diamond-office-tower-birmingham-united-kingdom
84. http://www.emporis.com/building/rough-diamond-residential-tower-birmingham-united-kingdom
85. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=5396
86. "Birmingham tower block comes down". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
87. "Stephenson Tower". Skyscrapernews.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
88. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=1160
89. "Tower blocks demolished for second phase of £215m student village". Aston University. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
90. "Dalton Tower". Skyscrapernews.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
92. "St Philip's Cathedral". Skyscraperpage.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
93. "SS Peter and Paul". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
94. "St Martins in the Bull Ring". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
95. "JC Clock Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
96. "BT Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.

External links

• Skyscrapernews Birmingham Database
• Emporis Birmingham Database