Two 25-story staggered towers sitting atop a plinth make up the design concept for Garden Hill, a Hanging Gardens of Babylon-inspired residential development in Birmingham, England’s second largest city.
Each 25-story tower will be covered in both public and private terraces from top to bottom. The buildings’ unique cascading form (the apexes are reduced to cut down their bulk) allows for the terraces and a public park to exist on top of the plinth. The southern tower’s terraces will be exposed to morning and early afternoon sun while the northern tower’s terraces will receive afternoon and evening sun.
The shared atrium will have plenty of natural daylight and will also be naturally ventilated. Solar panels will help to offset the building’s energy requirements
To further the sustainability of the project, the structure will be made entirely out of CLT as opposed to steel or concrete.
Rendering courtesy of Architects of Invention.
500 small residential units will be spread across the two tower project. 60% of the units will be one-bedroom apartments measuring between about 430 sf and 540 sf. The other 40% will have two bedrooms and provide between 680 sf and 810 sf. 120 to 200 parking spots will also be included.
While the units are small, the building provides large shared facilities for communal living and working. These facilities include music recording studios and small rental units for startups. Ground floor retail is planned on High Street Bordesley. The Garden Hill site is located in Digbeth, a ten-minute walk from the City Center.
Architects of Invention is the architect for the project, which is estimated to cost about $90 million.
Related Stories
| May 22, 2014
NYC's High Line connects string of high-profile condo projects
The High Line, New York City's elevated park created from a conversion of rail lines, is the organizing principle for a series of luxury condo buildings designed by big names in architecture.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 20, 2014
World's best new skyscrapers: Renzo Piano's The Shard, China's 'doughnut hotel' voted to Emporis list
Eight other high-rise projects were named Emporis Skyscraper Award winners, including DC Tower 1 by Dominique Perrault Architecture and Tour Carpe Diem by Robert A.M. Stern.
| May 16, 2014
BoA, USGBC to offer $25,000 grants for green affordable housing projects
The Affordable Green Neighborhoods Grant Program will offer 14 grants to developers of affordable housing in North America who are committed to building sustainable communities through the LEED for Neighborhood Development program.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 12, 2014
The best of affordable housing: 4 projects honored with 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards [slideshow]
The winners include two dramatic conversions of historic YMCA buildings into modern, affordable multifamily complexes.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 5, 2014
Toronto residential tower to feature drawer-like facade scheme
Some of the apartments in the new River City development will protrude from the building at different lengths, creating a drawer-like "push-pull" effect.
| May 2, 2014
Norwegian modular project set to be world's tallest timber-frame apartment building [slideshow]
A 14-story luxury apartment block in central Bergen, Norway, will be the world's tallest timber-framed multifamily project, at 49 meters (160 feet).
| May 1, 2014
Tight on space for multifamily? Check out this modular kitchen tower
The Clei Ecooking kitchen, recently rolled out at Milan's Salone de Mobile furniture fair, squeezes multiple appliances into a tiny footprint.
