| Ringway Centre | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Alternative names | SBQ |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| Address | Smallbrook Queensway |
| Town or city | Birmingham |
| Country | England |
| Elevation | 127m |
| Completed | 1962 |
| Owner | CEG |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 6 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | James Roberts, Sydney Greenwood |
| Main contractor | Laing Construction |
Ringway Centre is a Grade B locally listed[1] building located on Smallbrook Queensway in the city centre ofBirmingham, England. The six-storey, 230 metres (750 ft) long building was designed by architectJames Roberts as part of theInner Ring Road scheme in the 1950s and is notable for its gentle sweeping curved frontal elevation.[2]
Completed in 1962, the Ringway Centre was the first part of the Inner Ring Road scheme to be completed, and the only part with street-level shops and footways.[3] The building currently provides office space on its upper floors and commercial space at street level.
Smallbrook Street was built up during the medieval period as the start of the route southwest of theBull Ring Markets. By the early twentieth century the site of the Ringway Centre was occupied by many smallVictorian commercial and residential buildings.[3]
In 1940, duringWorld War II, most of the buildings on the south side of Smallbrook Street were destroyed byGerman bombing including theFrank Matcham designed, Empire Palace Theatre of 1894 on the corner of Smallbrook Street andHurst Street.[4] A few buildings survived theBirmingham Blitz most notably the Scala Cinema which stood at the western end of the Ringway until it demolition in 1960 for the construction of Scala House.[5] From 1940 until 1957 the areas to the south of Smallbrook Street was used as a car park or temporary second hand car dealerships, the remaining buildings were demolished in 1957[3]
It is partly due to the destruction of this area during theBirmingham Blitz that led to the Ringway Centre being the first part of the Inner Ring Road to be built with construction commencing in 1957. This part of theInner Ring Road is unique in that it has pavements on either side, enclosed by buildings with shop fronts at street level. It was for this reason that in 1959 the Ringway Centre was criticised by the head of the Birmingham School of Planning, Leslie Ginsberg as being old fashioned.
After this section of the ring road was constructed the decision was made to separate pedestrians from traffic in the form of underpasses, subways and flyovers. The designer of the ring roadHerbert Manzoni, believed that pedestrians should never cross carriageway of the ring road.Laing Construction were appointed as principal contractors for construction. TheHurst Street overpass was the first part of the building to be constructed completed in 1959.[6]
Current tenants of the commercial units include restaurants, newsagents, fast food takeaways and a specialist music store. The office floors have historically attracted railway companies due to its proximity toNew Street railway station.
The building was designed by local architectJames Roberts who went on to design the Albany Hotel opposite in 1962 and theGrade II listedRotunda in 1965. The structural elements of the entire building are constructed of in-situ and pre-cast concrete which was innovative at the time as no steel was needed in its construction and it was fire resistant. Architectural historian, Andy Foster describes the Ringway Centre as:[2]
The best piece of mid-C20 urban design in the city, and the only stretch of the Inner Ring Road built as a boulevard, rather than an urban motorway.
— Birmingham: Pevsner Architectural Guides
The façade of the building has a blend of thin concrete mullions, bands of windows and relief panels.[2] The pre-cast abstract geometric relief panels are similar in form to the works ofBen Nicholson. There are projecting sculptural concrete trough uplighters which highlight the relief panels at night.[2] In the centre a glazed section bridgesHurst Street on a pair of ribbed splayed concretepiloti, the building was carried over Hurst Street to ensure the continuous sweep of the building along the south side of the road.[2][7]
In July 2016, the building was refusedlisted status byHistoric England which enables redevelopment to take place. Historic England stated that:[8]
The building was cleverly designed to make a large structure seem part of the human city environment. However, while the building's design and compatibility with its setting have distinct quality, it relies on considerable repetition of standardised parts and has undergone alteration to its exterior at ground floor level and to its interiors.
Historic England also issued aCertificate of Immunity from Listing in March 2022.[9]
In September 2023, Birmingham City Council's planning committee voted 7 to 6 in favour of allowing the building to be demolished and replaced by three tower blocks of 44, 48 and 56 storey respectively.[10]
52°28′32″N1°53′53″W / 52.475566°N 1.898081°W /52.475566; -1.898081
