Snow Hill
Snow Hill, Birmingham
We were involved in the transformation of Birmingham’s historic business district for many years as masterplanners, conservation advisors and civil and structural engineers.
The £500m phased development – conceived and developed by our integrated thinking and holistic approach to urban renewal - transformed a large vacant site in central Birmingham into a major mixed-use scheme, with 800,000sqft of offices on the edge of the main business district and much improved transport links.
Our Masterplan for the wider Snow Hill District was developed in collaboration with the Colemore Business District, Centro, landowners and stakeholders. It set out a vision and urban design principles for the area which saw it connected physically and socially with the wider city centre and revitalised through new development, public transport initiatives. The key to our masterplan was the reconstruction of this interchange as an urban signalled junction, with Snow Hill switched from a dual carriageway to an urban boulevard. This established an important link to the Jewellery Quarter and created permeable urban blocks for offices that helped significantly improve the availability of high-quality office space in the city. Additionally, St Chad's Circus on the Inner Ring Road was levelled and reconfigured to create a new square adjacent to St Chad's Cathedral and a viaduct was constructed alongside the station for the extension of the West Midlands Metro into the city centre.
Clients: Ballymore and Birmingham City Council