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
Multifamily Housing | Feb 7, 2023
Multifamily housing rents flat in January, developers remain optimistic
Multifamily rents were flat in January 2023 as a strong jobs report indicated that fears of a significant economic recession may be overblown. U.S. asking rents averaged $1,701, unchanged from the prior month, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Reconstruction Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. building reconstruction and renovation sector
Gensler, Stantec, IPS, Alfa Tech, STO Building Group, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest reconstruction sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 3, 2023
HUD unveils report to help multifamily housing developers overcome barriers to offsite construction
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the National Institute of Building Sciences and MOD X, has released the Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap, a strategic report that presents the key knowledge gaps and research needs to overcome the barriers and challenges to offsite construction.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 2, 2023
St. Louis’s first transit-oriented multifamily development opens in historic Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood
St. Louis’s first major transit-oriented, multi-family development recently opened with 287 apartments available for rent. The $71 million Expo at Forest Park project includes a network of pathways to accommodate many modes of transportation including ride share, the region’s Metro Transit system, a trolley line, pedestrian traffic, automobiles, and bike traffic on the 7-mile St. Vincent Greenway Trail.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2023
Step(1) housing: A new approach to sheltering unhoused people in Redwood City, Calif.
A novel solution to homelessness will open soon in Redwood City, Calif. The compact residential campus employs modular units to create individual sleeping units, most with private bathrooms. The 240 units of housing will be accompanied by shared services and community spaces. Instead of the congregate dorm-style shelters found in many U.S. cities, this approach gives each resident a private, lockable, conditioned sleeping space.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 24, 2023
Top 10 cities for downtown living in 2023
Based on cost of living, apartment options, entertainment, safety, and other desirable urban features, StorageCafe finds the top 10 cities for downtown living in 2023.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 23, 2023
Long Beach, Calif., office tower converted to market rate multifamily housing
A project to convert an underperforming mid-century office tower in Long Beach, Calif., created badly needed market rate housing with a significantly lowered carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse project, composed of 203,177 sf including parking, created 106 apartment units out of a Class B office building that had been vacant for about 10 years.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 19, 2023
Chicago multifamily high-rise inspired by industrial infrastructure and L tracks
The recently unveiled design of The Row Fulton Market, a new Chicago high-rise residential building, draws inspiration from industrial infrastructure and L tracks in the historic Fulton Market District neighborhood. The 43-story, 300-unit rental property is in the city’s former meatpacking district, and its glass-and-steel façade reflects the arched support beams of the L tracks.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 19, 2023
Editorial call for Multifamily Affordable Housing project case studies - no cost to submit!
Building Design+Construction will feature a roundup of "Multifamily Affordable Housing" projects on BDCnetwork.com.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 12, 2023
8 noteworthy multifamily housing projects, including a refuge for unsheltered youth
Join us on a nationwide tour of notable new multifamily projects from around the country.
