The poor old HCT threads all seem to have bit the dust, dunno if they're coming back or not.....anyway it's very near completion so here's a quick history lesson :)

August 23rd 2003
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df07b3127cce9bd428c1cb9f00000036108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

That bloody hole....it stayed this way for yonks
October 2003
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3ce04b3127cce9bd428ddb85700000026108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

November 28th 2003
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3cf09b3127cce9bd428d88afd00000026108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

We have a crane!!
February 22nd 2004
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4dc03b3127cce9bd428b83ce800000015108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4dc03b3127cce9bd428b9bdd900000015108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4dc03b3127cce9bd428a43cf400000016108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

The Core's strart rising
April 19th 2004
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da38b3127cce9bd42896606200000015108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da38b3127cce9bd428ac605800000016108AbtGrNu5ZNQ

May 25th 2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT_25th_may_04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT_may_25_04.jpg

June 20th 2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT_20th_june_2004.jpg

July 11th 2005
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT_July_11_04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT_11th_July_2004.jpg

The Cladding makes an appearence
August 9th 2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTAug9th2004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTCladdingAug9th2004.jpg

20th August 2005
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT20th802004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT20th802004.jpg

October 4th 2004 Blue skies at last
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT4thOct2004.jpg

October 24th 2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT24thNov04.jpg

December 16th 2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT16th122004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTfromVicsquare161204.jpg

January 12th 2005
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTJan12th05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/PICT0025.jpg

February 8th 2005
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTFeb8th05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT8thFebruary2005.jpg

June 7th 2005
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction%202/HCTJune7th2005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction%202/HCT7th62005.jpg

god some of those buildiings around hCT are awful

Thanks for those Smiley.I didn't realise they started the cladding when it was only a few floors up.Great addition to the area.....now it needs another one!

I think it'd be great if there were four of them - one about where Nostalgia and Comics are, on the corner of Hill St and Smallbrook Queensway, one where the current frontage of the Alex is, and another where that horrible windowless thing is on Hill St - and all different colours - you could have red, blue and gold or something - and different heights - a bit bigger on the Hill St/Smallbrook junction, the other two smaller. Then a nice square in the middle. It'd compliment the new New St as well. Ah, who said drugs don't work???

Well looks like they finished HCT then :)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/Derekksharmen/HCT.jpg

DEEE....IVE MISSED U YOU SOOO MUCH!

Steady Neil, People will start talking matey :|

Well looks like they finished HCT then :)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/Derekksharmen/HCT.jpg

woo, nice! That carpark is doomed you know, it cant remain for long.

It doesn't even look that tall now!

It doesn't even look that tall now!
It looks pretty accurate to me, give or take a few metres. That angle will tend to make the tower look taller because the perspective makes Centre City look shorter.
If you compare the size of the tower to the pagoda in the foreground you'll see that it's all relative.

Thanks for the render Dee, it shows how nice the tower will look when the centre lift shaft has been removed - makes some difference.

They seem to be taking there time finishing this beauty.. Whats taking them so long ?

we;; the hotels due to open in autum

They seem to be taking there time finishing this beauty.. Whats taking them so long ?

Internal work and I presume they still need the external lift to get materials to the higher floors so I guess that bit of cladding down the middle will be the last to be completed

...if you think it's slow going now, you ought to have been around when it was just a hole in the ground....now that was tedious :(

i dont like it!

Yeh, the car park is doomed, but what will they build there instead? another Orion sized tower :dunno: who knows

i reccon a tower in size between hct and westide..... so when you drive along that stretch the towers go up and down and up and down.....

i reccon a tower in size between hct and westide..... so when you drive along that stretch the towers go up and down and up and down.....

Thats the idea - but really it be just Up - Down - Up ;) :cheers1:

posted by bazzup on another thread
I visited Birmingham yesterday and saw Beetham's effort there and quite frankly, from most angles, it is disgusting. The streaky cladding just looks like they haven't removed the protective sheeting from the glass and from the back it looks like some kind of disused lift shaft or something. I wasn't too impressed by the Liverpool tower either, and am yet to be convinced by Manchester's tower.

The welcome these towers have received in their cities reflects the generally poor quality of tall buildings outside of London and I would be very wary of this tower, in such a prominent place, even though I quite like the rendering.

By the way, I have nothing against Birmingham, I like it and it deserves better. The new Selfridges is stunning.

just wondered if you agree ? I dont

I am not completely sold on the stripey stuff but it adds a bit of colour to the cityscape. The shape of the building though is lovely - the best of the Beethams. It would have been better had the lift cores had the glazing connecting them - unfortunately HCT has a "backside".

I was unsure when I first saw the cladding going up - I thought, "this thing's gonna look like a shower curtain". But it has grown on me and I really like it now, it has a waterfall effect to it. Very nice.
I can see why some might take a disliking. But I think the 'streaky' is much better than plain glass.

Wait till it's lit from within - then I think we'll see it come alive....

Yes, color is probably the main reason why I like HCT. As someone mentioned before on these forums (can't remeber who), "HCT is like a lone glass warrior amongst concrete buildings."

As for the "streaky" panels, I was kind of disappointed, but they grew on me.

I was a little unsure too at the begining with the tiger print panels and from the rear I still think it looks very green. I adore the the streaky glass facade though which makes it look more like something from the netherlands or new york rather than the uk. It's going to look incredible at night when occuplied

http://************/9unpyx.jpg

Those lucky bastards with the penthouses

Never mind the penthouses, anyone who's got an apartment there are lucky bastards

Nice picture Foxtrot, did you wait for a sunny day to take your pics or did you just fall lucky?

Just looking through a few old photo's....just imagine how good HCT's gonna look at night from this angle once she's finished and lit up
http://************/9uvwig

i love winter fo that very reason...the city all being lit up...this winter will eb the one to watch#!

I'm gonna go and cut that branch down then in readiness coz it will probably have grown about another two foot by now!

Thats an amazing shot - dont just think about it with HCT add a completed Orion and Arena Central to it and that shot would look STUPENDIOUS

Another winter picture

http://************/uv86d

Scroll >>>>

http://************/zu3ox

HCT popping up along our construction alley - doesnt Alpha look splendid.

http://************/pvujd

That's a big bugger of a photo, here's another wonky nightshot from the top of the bullring carpark.....I think my tripod had one leg longer than the others
http://************/9uxcn9.jpg

Nice picture Foxtrot, did you wait for a sunny day to take your pics or did you just fall lucky?I was lucky. I'm on holiday at the moment and supposed to be in cornwall but I got free tickets to the Ashes :banana:
Mrs Foxtrot wasn't too happy :mad2: but as I know how treat a lady I took her on a skyscraper, beer and shopping spree to make it up and the weather was lovely

:hahaha: a few more

http://************/1onl84

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT08Feb05.jpg

:hahaha: a few more

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT08Feb05.jpg

If only CCT had a few more floors...

Still, good to see the cladding is almost complete on HCT - just the central bay to go. We need another big'un underway now!

I like it, I like the cladding and I like the illusion of how the side angle makes it look that much taller, the same thing happens to Center Point in London when you view it from the side.

a couple of less seeen views

http://************/a1mjyc.jpg

http://************/a1mkav.jpg

That first one is fantastic.....we see a new very moody side to HCT!

It's great, as opposed to the arse end of scala house, which is un-great.

I agree that first one is AMAZING - very very moody, enter it into UPC, it deserves a 10 :cheers1:

The lift on the front is being dismantled too!!

Nearly done

what have they done to the recessed level? is it just more of the same cladding just recessed a couple of metres? has it been done yet?

Holloway Circus in 1968 :cool:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Old%20birmingham/HollowayCircus1966.jpg

Ugh, the god awful brown building... in it's glory days?

It's surreal to see old 60's concrete buildings looking clean and new... still look as bad tho.

Aug 7th 2005 :cheer:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction%202/HCTAug7th05.jpg

HCT's arse end
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction%202/HCT7thAug05.jpg

Lucky bastards!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction%202/HCTAugust7th2005.jpg

Beauty and the beast!
http://************/a40x9v.jpg

beauty and the beast sums it up when comapring HCT to those other buildings

I'm more convinced now that HCT isn't even 400 ft in height looking at those photos.

My guess is it's something like 390 feet.

Bummer. :(

Beetham's Manchester tower is already almost as high as the HCT - and it's only half way up at 29 storeys!

Yeah but we've got beautiful blue skies in Birmingham and it always rains in Manchester....so our tower will always look better :happy: ;)

That's just not good enough! I won't settle for any feeble excuse!

HCT HAD BLUDDY WELL BE 400 FEET OR A BIT MORE OTHERWISE I WILL THCWEAM AND THCWEAM UNTIL I'M THICK.

:bleep: :bleep: :rant: :rant:

Holloway Circus in 1968 :cool:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Old%20birmingham/HollowayCircus1966.jpg

Rob, you have tapped into some great pics there, where is your source? This one is almost Flash Gordon in colour (1930's series, not the film)

look on the Old Birmingham thread EK....I guarantee you'll wet your pants

That's just not good enough! I won't settle for any feeble excuse!

HCT HAD BLUDDY WELL BE 400 FEET OR A BIT MORE OTHERWISE I WILL THCWEAM AND THCWEAM UNTIL I'M THICK.

:bleep: :bleep: :rant: :rant:

It looks 400ft plus to me...is that good enough

Interesting to relate, Brum held onto its olive-painted street-lighting columns along the Inner Ring Road until well into the late 80s - when the old flattened globe style lights were eventually replaced with new ones - in fact, if I am correct, the columns along Suffolk Street Queensway are STILL painted olive.....

look on the Old Birmingham thread EK....I guarantee you'll wet your pants

Good stuff

Did Mr Scruff play?

Mr Scruff!

LET'S HEAR IT FOR MR SCRUFF!!!!

:banana: :cucumber: :carrot: :banana: :cucumber: :carrot: :banana: :cucumber: :carrot: :banana: :cucumber: :carrot: :banana: :cucumber: :carrot:

A reliable source told me he was there on his honeymoon?, I thought I may have seen him but weren't sure and didn't care as I was watching Trojan and carefully smoking my last... cigarette.

You're missing the blue onehttp://************/a452l5.gif

Martin, how in the hell can you be sure that HCT is 10ft smaller from pictures on a PC??

I'm more convinced now that HCT isn't even 400 ft in height looking at those photos.

My guess is it's something like 390 feet.

Bummer. :(

Beetham's Manchester tower is already almost as high as the HCT - and it's only half way up at 29 storeys!

your glass is always half empty aint it mg! how the hell can you tell that? and who really cares that much? and since when was beetham manc going to be 58 storey? our tower might be shorter but it has one great thing going for it...its in brum ,where i live and not in manc which i dont care much for.

:laugh: :laugh:

Some people on here, dont half get there knickers in a twist :laugh:

For what its worth,,i think HCT is stunning,and who gives a shit if its only 390ft :)

And blueboy ,looking only to your city boundries will make you short sighted :)

Interesting to relate, Brum held onto its olive-painted street-lighting columns along the Inner Ring Road until well into the late 80s - when the old flattened globe style lights were eventually replaced with new ones - in fact, if I am correct, the columns along Suffolk Street Queensway are STILL painted olive.....
A bit off topic but I have noticed some residential areas and town centres are going back to white lighting that was around in the 60's instead of the shitty orange sodium lights that have been used for a while now. The white actually gives a much better atmosphere and has been known to reduce crime.

I hate the old sodium lights! They impair your vision actually!

They're not quite white lights, they're a kind of pinkish-yellow from high pressure sodium if I am not mistaken... better at illuminating!

just wondering if you guys were offered an apartment there which way would you want the apartment windows to be facing???????

just wondering if you guys were offered an apartment there which way would you want the apartment windows to be facing???????

On the side facing Broad Street, The skyline there will look quite something in a few years :) plus you can peer down on the porpers in the Sentinels aswell as Orion 1 and 2 :hahaha:

St.andrews for me - you can see the totty on hurst street to. Also very close to Caspian Kebab house. What a place to live!!!

Drove past today - all the portacabins have moved from the front base of the tower, onto the multistory carpark, also there was loads of glass up there waiting to go on the tower.

I hate the old sodium lights! They impair your vision actually!
Yeh but the orange ones make the night sky look all funny :yes:

They're not quite white lights, they're a kind of pinkish-yellow from high pressure sodium if I am not mistaken... better at illuminating!
No, the ones they have been installing in my area are pure white.I think they are mercury intead of soduim or just fluorescent tubes.

Have they got rid of those godawful 35 year old crooked/leaning sodium streetlight columns that adorn the Aston Expressway yet? They're an embarrassment. Especially just around the Dartmouth Circus intersection where the A38(M) diverges from the A5127. They even look dangerously unstable. (see pic below)

You'd think the highways department would have done something about those ages ago - the standard of motorway lighting throughout Birmingham (even on the [extra wide] sections of the new toll motorway) is pathetic in the extreme - I like really tall halogen-lighting masts the type of which you see so common dotted about motorways around Manchester and Leeds (and much of the M6 north of Knutsford all the way to Preston) - but all of Brum's motorways have always had crappy lighting.

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10004/A38b.jpg

no they are still there and look rustier than ever

The lamposts on the A38(M) are a national treasure

You think brums bad, take the M1 to London - Just north of the M25 they are shocking!

You can tell we're all getting bored waiting for the cladding to be finished on HCT, this has turned into the lamp post thread, almost something you'd find in the more yawn inspired regions of the world skybar....but somehow we pull it off and make it interesting :)

looks good inside and out>>>>

http://************/abnmyx.jpg

lol, nice pic

this is how inside will look

http://************/abm7eo.jpg

You think brums bad, take the M1 to London - Just north of the M25 they are shocking!


Brum's motorways have the worst street lights in the entire country. They are a disgrace. I very much doubt anywhere has worse - even London. I really don't understand why the Highways Agency have been so reluctant to actually replace them with taller, better columns. They haven't been changed ever since they were first put up back when the Midland Links Motorways were fully open in 1972. Well, maybe they replaced the sodium lamps with the golden halogen ones in places (except the A38(M) of course). Around Greater Manchester, by comparison, they appear to have replaced them about twice over in the last 15 years....and that's on virtually every motorway. We (in Manc) probably more than likely have the brightest lit motorways in the whole of Britain now....

Thank you for showing me the finer points of street lighting. ;)

Oh, you're very welcome.....It's nothing really!

*blushes*

At least now i'll never look at a street lamp in the same way again.

How'd you get the first pic, genosha?

... We (in Manc) probably more than likely have the brightest lit motorways in the whole of Britain now....

You can see them from Beagle 2 apparently ;)

How'd you get the first pic, genosha?

check out the new look beetham website

check out the new look beetham website

the obvious answer really.

Beetham's Powder. :yes:

"Brum's motorways have the worst street lights in the entire country. They are a disgrace. I very much doubt anywhere has worse - even London. I really don't understand why the Highways Agency have been so reluctant to actually replace them with taller, better columns. They haven't been changed ever since they were first put up back when the Midland Links Motorways were fully open in 1972. Well, maybe they replaced the sodium lamps with the golden halogen ones in places (except the A38(M) of course). Around Greater Manchester, by comparison, they appear to have replaced them about twice over in the last 15 years....and that's on virtually every motorway. We (in Manc) probably more than likely have the brightest lit motorways in the whole of Britain now...."

again who gives a shit, people would rather have a nice smooth road surface then give a crap about the streetlamp, as long as it is bright enough, which it must be because i doubtt our lights cause more accident then in manchester. so what if manchester has replaced them, in birmingham there is a need to spend money on more important things like education and health. if the lamps are doing there jobs then why waste money to replace them

Well in the Birmingham Post on saturday tehy mentioned that the Eastside of Birmingham is to get a completely new electricity supply networkin a £40m development plan which will take roughly 10 years to complete.

It will replace the 1930's pile of rubbish with 21st century power-supply technology.

Hunters eyes Irish sites in city Aug 4 2005
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

When are aircraft warning lights going up?
Just drove south along the M6 at 4am - HCT was totally hidden from view!
i could make out most buildings, but not our newest tower!

Delay plagues city's towering headache Aug 18 2005




By Andy Shipley, Evening Mail


A "JINXED" city tower block plagued with problems before it even opens to the public has hit its latest glitch - a delay in its completion.

The £70 million Beetham Tower, in Holloway Circus, is the latest development to transform Birmingham's skyline and stands at 393ft high.

But over the last nine months it has suffered a major accident, a marketing gaffe and complaints from residents.

Now its owners have announced that the expected autumn opening will have to be put off until January next year.




Once complete, it will be home to 212 apartments, a health club and a luxury Radisson SAS Hotel. The apartments range in price from £140,000 to a £1 million penthouse.

Controversy surrounding the tower, started last December, when advertising hoardings at its base promoted its sister building in Manchester instead of the Birmingham project.

Then in February this year, scaffolding fell nearly 400ft from the tower's roof, narrowly missing workers and passing cars.

No-one was hurt but the metal poles smashed into hoardings below and plunged Birmingham into rush-hour chaos.

And just a week earlier, the tower was again in trouble after its cranes were blamed by nearby families for disturbing their TV signals.

"The completion date has recently been revised which isn't unusual on a job of this scale and complexity," said Russell Markou, from Beetham.

"There is always a degree of flexibility built into large construction projects to take into account unforeseen circumstances such as the weather and the co-ordination of multiple partners and suppliers.

"However, the key parties involved are still working very closely on a day to day basis and enjoying the challenge of the project which is so important to Birmingham's on-going renaissance."

theres been a fuck up, evening mail is reporting that the tower will now not be complete till january!

Why? What's it saying??

lol, u replied before i could edit.
Sounds a bit OTT to me.
Was reading the mail while gettin a chinese and spotted the article

393 feet high!!!

See! Told you it wasn't even 400 feet!

Cop out! Cop out! Short-arse! Short-arse!

So - Richardson Tower has got its work cut out....All they need to surpass this is to make sure their 38/39 storey thingy rises to 394 feet and they've got it clinched!

Suddenly 393 feet against Manc's 561 feet seems like a travesty! That must mean the average ceiling height of the apartments is as we expected - less than 10 feet per floor.

"Brum's motorways have the worst street lights in the entire country. They are a disgrace. I very much doubt anywhere has worse - even London. I really don't understand why the Highways Agency have been so reluctant to actually replace them with taller, better columns. They haven't been changed ever since they were first put up back when the Midland Links Motorways were fully open in 1972. Well, maybe they replaced the sodium lamps with the golden halogen ones in places (except the A38(M) of course). Around Greater Manchester, by comparison, they appear to have replaced them about twice over in the last 15 years....and that's on virtually every motorway. We (in Manc) probably more than likely have the brightest lit motorways in the whole of Britain now...."

again who gives a shit, people would rather have a nice smooth road surface then give a crap about the streetlamp, as long as it is bright enough, which it must be because i doubtt our lights cause more accident then in manchester. so what if manchester has replaced them, in birmingham there is a need to spend money on more important things like education and health. if the lamps are doing there jobs then why waste money to replace them


You overlook the fact that they council / highways dept have already spent millions on new fancy street lighting practically everywhere else around Brum city centre and other towns in the area, so the A38(M)/Midland Links Motorway lights are well overdue for a major overhaul. Don't get me wrong, I know exactly what you mean by the "if they aint broke then why replace them?" motto seeing as how here in Stockport/Manchester they waste millions on regularly replacing perfectly decent and new street lighting columns and other extraneous furniture that were only put up a couple of years earlier - I am not exaggerating when I say that up here they are so obsessed with replacing them on a regular basis they do it almost two yearly - it really is ridiculous beyond belief.



Anyway - here's another of our celebrated street lamps just for your interest - discovered in High Lane the other day on a particularly deadly stretch of the A6......seems like this one is actually a strange foliage projectile that happens to have a metal arm with a lamp sprouting out from the top of it......


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/P8150001z.jpg

;)

That lamp post would look nice on The Aston Expressway

martin, stop it with this height thing.....ive seen the planning application for the tower and i know its exact height....

.....i cant believe that your taking notice of the "Birmingham evening mail"...not even its sister, the birmingham post, over people who have seen the planning application, members of the city council and people from within parties who are constructing this tower.....all of which have told you this tower is OVER 400FT!!!!!

That lamp post would look nice on The Aston Expressway


Naaa - it would have to be leaning at a precarious angle - a bit like these near the Hawthorns Metro station - what the fuck are THESE all about?? Who the hell came up with these column designs?? Were they pissed or summat? They actually look like a Photoshop job! Positively Unreal!!! :eek:

http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/full_photos/hawthorns_entrance_building_off_carltonrd.jpg

martin, stop it with this height thing.....ive seen the planning application for the tower and i know its exact height....

.....i cant believe that your taking notice of the "Birmingham evening mail"...not even its sister, the birmingham post, over people who have seen the planning application, members of the city council and people from within parties who are constructing this tower.....all of which have told you this tower is OVER 400FT!!!!!


I don't think so Woody - I reckon it really IS 393 feet - why else would they come up with that figure then? It's the same with Manchester's CIS Tower - all the while we were led to believe it was 400 feet high, but that was just a rounding up of the height - we all now know it stands 387 feet high - some 13 feet short. Ditto HCT which always looked just that slightly less than 400 feet, thus my reckoning it was a few feet short seems to ring absolutely true. 38 storeys, 121.3 metres - that's just a few feet short of 400 feet isn't it?

And yes, I am obsessed about the height - only cos it's pretty damn likely Brum will never get a 500 footer any time soon so at least make our existing fucking proposals top the 400ft mark or don't bleedin' well bother at all, know what I'm saying?? ;)

im sorry but there is no way on earth you can tell precisly tell how tall the building is from the pics on here. your talking about it being 7ft shorter then it states!
7FT!!
You've got no reference points to compare it too either.

So where did that newspaper article get the height as 393 feet from then? They can't have just plucked it from out of the blue, surely? I'm inclined to think they have got the exact accurate height to the building's roof. The oft-quoted 400-footer slant would appear to be a rounding up just to make things even.

Newspaper articles could pull some pretty weird numbers out...

But yeah, I think you're right. HCT really doesn't look that tall and the spires aren't really what I expected.

But who really cares? 7ft won't have much of a difference on the skyline.

well consiering the birmingham post (the evening mails sister paper) has always quoted the hieght of HCT as 120m....... (ie 2.2m shorter than the official roof height) it is not supprising that a crude conversition from metres to feet.....lets say 3.3 .....come ou at something like at 396.... very similar. i mean i dont know exactly wat the conversion of feet and metres are but i know from reading around Beethams aims, objectives, the planning application that they wanted to build a tower taller than 400ft to make it the tallest of it kind in the country ..... the exact roof height as quoted on the planning permission is 122.2 metres to roof with the allowance of upto 130m with mast extras....... this building is over 400ft!!!!

and anyway MG, its worth reminding yourself that HCT has 39 storeys..... and also a ground gloor. that makes this tower have 40 floor in height (if that makes sense)

Theres no denying HCT is over 400ft, its massive compared to thre sentinels. However, I've heard a rumour that the Richardsons tower is peaking somewhere close to 140m :runaway: AC are gonna have to go bigger ;) :cheers1:

well consiering the birmingham post (the evening mails sister paper) has always quoted the hieght of HCT as 120m....... (ie 2.2m shorter than the official roof height) it is not supprising that a crude conversition from metres to feet.....lets say 3.3 .....come ou at something like at 396.... very similar. i mean i dont know exactly wat the conversion of feet and metres are

My theory is that they took the height quoted on the Ian Simpson site - 120m, and converted it to feet (x 3.281), which gives 393.12ft.

Irrelevant though, HCT will have other buildings towering over it soon enough, in manchester at least!

:jk:

;)

Yep HCT will only be the 4th tallest when everything go's up around it, however 4th is being generous I expect to see it slip down to at least 7 with future proposals ....

matin g = moaner

manchester can have tall buildings ii'd rather have short buidlingslike like selfidges and the cube

and i'm still right about the lights

it doesnt matter if its 393 or 400 or 420 feet high really,it is what it is , its not the tallest in the country now , nor even in brum! so does it really matter if mancs gonna build some taller towers? i mean fair play to em but i cant see em from here (brum) anyway!

Height is only one factor in modern architecture, it's also important what the building looks like and we have nice buildings in abundance in Brum, HCT, Orion, Cube?, Selfridges, Rotunda (hopefully).

speaking of the cube the mailbox website now has a dedicated section with some more details its 500,000 sq ft 17 stories and "there will also be a rooftop restaurant reached by a scenic glass lift offering panoramic views over the city" so its going to have some good height to it, I can't wait!!

And they have already set up request forms for people interested in the apartments, restaurants etc, so they look keen to get it going ASAP.

http://www.mailboxlife.com/content/cube/

My theory is that they took the height quoted on the Ian Simpson site - 120m, and converted it to feet (x 3.281), which gives 393.12ft.

Irrelevant though, HCT will have other buildings towering over it soon enough, in manchester at least!

:jk:


Above mean sea level though, isn't Brum HCT more like 710 feet? Whilst Manchester's Beetham is a mere 630..... ;) :D

matin g = moaner

manchester can have tall buildings ii'd rather have short buidlingslike like selfidges and the cube
I'm pretty sure you wouldnt be saying that if Birmingham had as many highrise projects as Manchester ;)

There may be a lot of truth in what Martin is saying Accura, look how much coverage Selfridges has got and how much fame it has brought to Birmingham, as nice as HCT is it hasn't had anywhere near the same amount of coverage, so it is sometimes is about iconic buildings over height.

martin g = moaner

manchester can have tall buildings ii'd rather have short buidlingslike like selfidges and the cube



Speak for yourself pirlo21! You must have a very short memory, buddy.... :D

Click on this link and check out reply 170:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=216476&page=9&pp=20

Classic case of "kettle", "black", "pot", "calling" - though not in that order! ;)



and i'm still right about the lights


It's not a case of who is right - I never said I was "right", so why are you assuming you are? - I was only expresssing my opinion, that was all. Nothing else! You've confused the whole issue and turned it into an argument about who is "right" and who is "wrong" - no one is. Cos there was no right or wrong to begin with whatsoever! All people's opinions and views are objective. Yours and mine alike!

Speak for yourself pirlo21! You must have a very short memory, buddy....

Click on this link and check out reply 170:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...76&page=9&pp=20

Classic case of "kettle", "black", "pot", "calling" - though not in that order!



arf, arf and double arf

i' have moaned, but you seem to make a habit out of it matin g you always find something to moan about, even when the majority dont seem too

i' have moaned, but you seem to make a habit out of it matin g you always find something to moan about, even when the majority dont seem too

Martin G is also the guy who does fantastically optimistic renders of our city! I think you are being a bit unfair on him - chill!

Yeah Pirlo - you heard - now stop yer fuckin' moaning about me moaning all the time! :D


And my name is spelt MaRtin, not matin, you klutz.

to me you will always be called matin

Oi children, stop your MOANING :hahaha:

The lift is off the front now and the underside of the 'step' is being faced in the same metal panels as the cores

http://************/awrzir.jpg

Great picture, and I see you have being enjoying the same great weather we have been having up here today! :cool: It looks a lot neater since they removed the construction lift from the front :)

I do like this tower,but those white strips spoil it for me, I feel they are just stuck on and want to peel them off. The blue ones are ok but are not needed really as the cladding has a busy pattern anyway.

to me you will always be called matin


Well that just proves what a dodo you are then - not being able to spell people's names properly :tongue:

Matin - my arse! It's French for morning, in case you didn't know!

The lift is off the front now and the underside of the 'step' is being faced in the same metal panels as the cores

http://************/awrzir.jpg


Woo Hoo!! A colossal 393 feet high! Come on Proposed Richardson Tower On Broad Street - BEAT THAT!!! :D :D

Martin G, stop it with this 393 bloody feet...... you might as well say its 3 feet tall..... just as accurate!!!!

No!

Ner ner ner-ner neeeeerrrrr!! :baeh3: :cheer:

393 FEET! NOT QUITE 400 FEET!! YEAHHHH!!


:lol:

4716 inches!

.....FUNNY DIDNT KNOW YOU'D SPENT HOURS AT THE PLANNING OFFICE LOOKING AT THE PLANNING APPLICATION AND IN MEETINGS WITH THE COUNCIL.




......sorry, i realised cap was on and couldnt be arsed to change it lol

According to Martin G, even if we stuck Peter Crouch on top it wouldn't be 400ft....bloody CAA. I was in town today and it looks bloody massive, towers over the sentinals and I'm sure it's a fair few inches over the fabled 400ft

its just a shame...... why is it that we decided to build a tower in the middle of the only TWO years theirs a height limit impossed lol

According to Martin G, even if we stuck Peter Crouch on top it wouldn't be 400ft....bloody CAA. I was in town today and it looks bloody massive, towers over the sentinals and I'm sure it's a fair few inches over the fabled 400ft



Now that gives us a wicked idea Smiley - we could get Brum to build loads of fibreglass replica Peter Crouches (with both his arms held straight up above his head) and stick 'em all on top of every future tall building in Brum as antennae/lightning conductor rods - then we may just break the 400 feet mark for each one of them! :D :D :laugh: :lol: :rofl:

its just a shame...... why is it that we decided to build a tower in the middle of the only TWO years theirs a height limit impossed lol I spoke to a woman in the planning department about the High Places guidelines and the CAA restictions yesterday. She told me that the city council now want and are encouraging developers to go higher.

really, thats well good news... ill see if i can get any more info?!?!?!?

She also told me fiveways tower (the boxy black glass / orange brick one) has sick building syndrome which was the reason why everyone moved out. There is little or no chance of it converted to residential and the only solution is to bring it down and start again!

what the hell is sick building syndrome????

ok, tell us EVERYTHING you learned lol!

Indoor pollution. Aparently the air con system isn't sufficient and if they are going to bring it down I would have thought there are other serious problems. Few tennents would interested in taking a building like this even if the problems had been sorted. It would be too risky.
http://www.nsc.org/ehc/indoor/sbs.htm
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html

so it seams you quite a little natter with the woman at the planning department lol. its a shame about the tower, i quite like it and i doubt it would be replaced with something as tall ...... nice to hear that the council are trying to encourage taller towers though!

Thats some great news Foxtrot, alot of Brums older buildings have been suffering from aircon problems, thats why modern day floor heights are taller, hopefully, the 5 ways tower will be replaced (more then likely) but with something BIGGER ;)

Whatever replaces it will be bigger, though I wouldn't count on it being taller. There's alot of georgian and low rise round here.

Did you get any more info Foxtrot? Arena Central or anything? how convincing was she when saying the council are encouraging developers to go taller?

Thats gutting about fiveways tower, that is the one of the only towers at fiveways that stands out from the crowd. The others are so flat. Lets hope that any repalcement is 90m plus.

no, that was about it. She did say that the Urban design department has been merged with regeneration and they have a new head who wants to push things on. I did ask them to update the eastside website

no, that was about it. She did say that the Urban design department has been merged with regeneration and they have a new head who wants to push things on. I did ask them to update the eastside website

Here we go then, I reckon brums in for busy few years, it cooled down but I reckon there gonna really power thorugh some development proposals from now on. It seems so anyway. Lol good thinking, Eastsides a major scheme and theres no website, or nto one I can get on to. Maybe there waiting until specific masterplans are released like Curzon etc.

Thats gutting about fiveways tower, that is the one of the only towers at fiveways that stands out from the crowd. The others are so flat. Lets hope that any repalcement is 90m plus.

Indeed it does stand out, though it is an opportunity now for a tower real quality
http://************/ayt4x5

Shame. I really like that building.

It be a shame to see a tower like that go, but look at it this way, it means we get rid of another 70's office block and replace it with a brand new spanking one, although there are worse which need to go down :(

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/225FiveWaysTower_pic2.jpg

Doh! Thats one of the more decent buildings of the era.. whats going on?! okay some of these on the X-list are a little ugly, but they're also original and different.. why be left with all the 60's boxes.. I want to keep this, theres plenty of other places to build a tower :(

Doh! Thats one of the more decent buildings of the era.. whats going on?! okay some of these on the X-list are a little ugly, but they're also original and different.. why be left with all the 60's boxes.. I want to keep this, theres plenty of other places to build a tower :(

This is why buddy ...

"She also told me fiveways tower (the boxy black glass / orange brick one) has sick building syndrome which was the reason why everyone moved out. There is little or no chance of it converted to residential and the only solution is to bring it down and start again!" ...

damn that is a nice tower,with ourluck it'l get replaced by something smaller and uglier

Seems out of all the 60s and 70s crap we've got, it's all the best stuff that's going. Pn'M, FiveWays, NatWest... :(

Why oh why not Stephenson Tower and that Hill Street monstrosity?!

Stephenson tower according to Biosonic. is bitting the dust, they were gonna renovate it but apparently its not worth it.

From what I have read fiveways tower isn't even 20 years old it was built in the late 80's.
The only consilation is that we already have fiveways shopping centre going, edgebaston shopping centre, so half of fiveways is going to be rebuilt over the next few years.

Yep the 5 ways shopping centre is gonna be huge, well going on what they want - two towers were there favoured option

yeah, fiveways tower is less than 20 years old and was one of a very few small amount of high rise buildings being built in this time....i bleive this was built around the same time as the Hyatt and trident tower behind broad street.

one thing that does interest me though is that this was not built during the 60's but in the late 80's where strict and conservative planing guidlines were in place...and it passed the planning appplication for this area........ id imagine that something of similar height would be able to pass the planning process........

i always wondered why this tower was always not light up at any time of the year.....CUZ IT WAS EMPTY!

I can testify to the fact that five ways tower has sick building syndrome, it is horrible inside and within a few minutes you feel less than 100%, the very dark tinted glass doesn't help. It was owned by the government and has been mothballed for about ten years. It was sold to a developer a few years back but nothing has happened since. It was looked at by a major housebuilder prior to this but initial enquiries suggested local opposition and planning problems in addition to the sick building problem (it would also require new windows and therefore a reclad for residential)

Shame as the views from inside are amazing.

Oh fucking hell - another building that at least has an interesting shape and profile is destined for the scrapper - first it was Natwest (and REMEMBER THERE IS NOWT WRONG WITH THAT TOWER EITHER, THEY JUST DECIDED THEY WANT RID AND REPLACE IT WITH A NOW-STAPLE BRUM SQUATFUCKER THAT'S ONLY 12 STOREYS HIGH MAX), now Five Ways Tower. Next they'll drop us a bombshell saying the Alpha Tower has got concrete fatigue and it too will have to go, and then maybe the 19 storey Metropolitan House tower at FiveWays junction next..... - all this and Brum still seem incapable of repacing the towers it flattens with taller and better ones - or indeed building a tower that is more than 393 feet in height. BASTARD BASTARD BASTARD BUMBREATH BRUM BOLLOCKS! It's going backwards Brum - demolishing more office towers than it can even hope to build. It doesn't have a serious skyscraper future at all, the way things are going. No cat in hell's chance. :rant: :bleep: :bleep:

Like everyone else here is saying, why the fuck can't the ugly crappy ones like Stephenson Tower and the Brown Thing be flattened first??

I can testify to the fact that five ways tower has sick building syndrome, it is horrible inside and within a few minutes you feel less than 100%, the very dark tinted glass doesn't help. It was owned by the government and has been mothballed for about ten years. It was sold to a developer a few years back but nothing has happened since. It was looked at by a major housebuilder prior to this but initial enquiries suggested local opposition and planning problems in addition to the sick building problem (it would also require new windows and therefore a reclad for residential)

Shame as the views from inside are amazing.

If this was the case, then why the fuck wasn't it borne in mind when they built the fucker? - to make sure the structure at least comply with H&S regulations and whatnot - it seems so bizarre to me that they erect a landmark tower in the 80s and yet not give any careful thought or consideration to exactly how the services are routed through the building substructure. It doesn't make any sense at all. :(

It was built by the government need I say more

becaouse stephonshon tower is being used and 5ways tower aint.... and im sorry there is no point keeping empty buildings whi8ch wiill never be used again for the sake of a skyline!

I didn't know that about it being built by the Government! :eek:

Okay - well that figures then - scrimping on cash even back then the tightfisted fucking cheapskates. Imagine handing them the reins to re-build Birmingham New Street - the new structure will probably be even more of a death trap than the existing massive-scale-disaster-in-waiting.

........ well lets just be gratefull of that and that the new one is built before said impending disaster

Five Ways Tower's demise is taking over the HCT thread.....I'm gonna start a new one so we can say goddbye to our sick red and black friend in style. I wonder if they'll pick it apart bit by bit like P&M or can we expect it to be blown to shit

I cant find it :cry:

I cant find it :cry:

Give me chance to post it....I've got a dodgy keyboard after the amount of beer and tea I've spilt on it ;)

I've found it now. Thanks :)

good thinking smiley!

i think martin g needs help, he'd probably hang himself if he could find a place high enough to do it from!

i think martin g needs help, he'd probably hang himself if he could find a place high enough to do it from!


But then, I'm not the only one though am I eh, bluey old cock? ;)

yeah, fiveways tower is less than 20 years old and was one of a very few small amount of high rise buildings being built in this time....i bleive this was built around the same time as the Hyatt and trident tower behind broad st

I'm afraid you're wrong - I worked in Five Ways from 84 - 87 and the tower had already been there for years. I think it's late 70s

Me too - I thought it was there lot earlier - I think I had some 1983 pics taken of Brum that show that tower in the background.

i stand corrented than, as sure but hey the fact that i want even born then lol

Anyone would think the 80s were eons ago - in fact it was a brilliant decade (apart from the Government) for going out and enjoying the different clubs and music types. It's all too much of a muchness now. Nurse, the screens!

Anyone would think the 80s were eons ago - in fact it was a brilliant decade (apart from the Government) for going out and enjoying the different clubs and music types. It's all too much of a muchness now. Nurse, the screens!
...Here ! Here ! to that. :)

Hey Midge did you ever go to the Powerhouse on Wed nights? How about ZigZag on Fridays? Megas Wine Bar above MegaActive on Old Sq. How about West End Bar under Kennedy Tower, and Synatras just up the walkway. How about Rococo under Liberty's and TinCan club on Bradford St, and Anthony's which is now upstairs Bakers? How about Dial B on Icknield Port Road? How about plain old Snobs which was terrific in the 80s for northern soul, NY glam and Chicago early House?
I could go on.
Sorry....HCT looking superb, only about 100 panes of glass left!

Another old git here......yeah i went a few of them especially the Powerhouse do you remember Pagoda Park across the road as well.....3 floors high with a waterfall down the middle of the club and the dj in a glass lift going between the floors, class :)
Yeah HCT's looking cool

Hey Midge did you ever go to the Powerhouse on Wed nights? How about ZigZag on Fridays? Megas Wine Bar above MegaActive on Old Sq. How about West End Bar under Kennedy Tower, and Synatras just up the walkway. How about Rococo under Liberty's and TinCan club on Bradford St, and Anthony's which is now upstairs Bakers? How about Dial B on Icknield Port Road? How about plain old Snobs which was terrific in the 80s for northern soul, NY glam and Chicago early House?
I could go on.
Sorry....HCT looking superb, only about 100 panes of glass left!
Went to the Powerhouse on Thursday nights..fantastic, really used to love that place. Used to go to a place called the Jug on Albert Street, they had a hole in the wall that was no more than 3ft square to serve drinks from. Very underground..full of rent boys/drag queens/trannies/rockers/punks etc. Won't tell u which one of those I was!.Happy days. Can it be that it was all so simple then..etc..! :)

....ok this is one of those conversations you really cant ever join in lol

....ok this is one of those conversations you really cant ever join in lol

shall we start an old gits 80's reminiscing thread?

But then, I'm not the only one though am I eh, bluey old cock? ;)

err..??..yes actually you are mate,

Back on topic :banana: :cucumber: :pepper: :banana2: :horse:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT27thAug2005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT27Aug2005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT27thAug05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCT27th82005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTowerAugust2705.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTowerAugust272005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTower27thAug2005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTowerAugust27th2005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTAugust27th05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTowerAug27th2005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction/HCTAugust27th2005.jpg

B.E.A.utifull!!!

finaly, good bye to that horribe scar where the lift went!

now we just need rid of that awful carpark.

...... ...... it has to go...and will be soon!

Quite a discreet entrance they're putting in at the front..

Anyone know if the covers have been taken off the metal cladding yet?

yeah it is!

shame that the back of the building spoils it

err..??..yes actually you are mate,

Nope - I'm not mate......so you're wrong again. Most people who think they know me usually always are! :yes:

shame that the back of the building spoils it

It's 393 feet of gash!

Hallelujah!!!

A big blue shiny gash into the blue sky (unlike Manchester) of Bham......all 400ft and 00.1mm of it :banana:

Bollocks! That's with Peter Crouch standing on top of it you frigging cheat! :nono:

Bugger!

Quite a discreet entrance they're putting in at the front..

It's proably got a little tanny system saying how rich you are as you come into your flat. Well, no it's probably a buttler or two.

Some great pics smiley :)

front should be finished within a couple of weeks
http://************/b962xk.jpg

That really is a beauty. Its so great to see these modern skyscrapers finally coming to the provinces after all the years of the council tower block.

Yes indeedy, the 'provinces' are still alive and kicking...

i cant wait til the scar has gone...i dont think i can invisage wat it will be like when its complete!

When will the hotel open?

i think it was meant to be autumn but it has now been pushed back till january

Found some nice area shots of HCT

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Beetham%20Tower%201.jpg

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Beetham%20Tower%202.jpg

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Bettham%20Tower%203.jpg

Wow, those are stunning.

ooh fun

Found some nice area shots of HCT

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Beetham%20Tower%201.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/708/490betthebhm2_bmp.jpg

The renders were very accurate.

Fantastic pics :eek: :eek: :eek:

Fantastic shots there. Looks even better from the air! :)

I'm in awe.. can't think what say.. just... fuck it, who needs words

Not just at the tower, but at the surroundings (cept a few nasties) the city looks stunning..Build more, MORE I tell thee!!

Plus, I mean take Beetham, Liverpool.. and how that suddenly got Beetham west to join it, somet similair...cept bigger... Who wants to take a wild guess that Beeth-Brum2 aint being planned for across the road??? That'd be superb

Theres so many sites close by to this tower that just scream out for scrapies that I need a lie down.

i agree that those pics make the tower look fantastic but im not sure wither it shows the rest of the city in a nice light.....wat do you like about them????

i agree, there are a number of otheer sites screaming out for a beetham two....but will they be bothered when they have other cities to do...esp london!

In the first picture Birmingham looks fine apart from (using Ferge's words) a few nasties

ooh, new page, Stels post is worth reposting

Found some nice area shots of HCT

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Beetham%20Tower%201.jpg

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Beetham%20Tower%202.jpg

http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Bettham%20Tower%203.jpg

no its not a new page!

it is if you're only a 20 poster

Okay so here's a few more of our baby..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/midgeblackandwhite/Picturefile620.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/midgeblackandwhite/Picturefile619.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/midgeblackandwhite/Picturefile616.jpg

stunning, and exotic (1st pic - could be LA)

:applause:

the back of the building is still annyoing the hell out of me!

but brilliant nevertheless anyway

Those aerial shots are superb. The tower has a great stance and a commanding presence. Looks better in real life than in the renders too, always a bonus :)

Great stuff guys :cheers:

Great pics Midge

looks awesome, can we have a taller one now please :))

The more I see this tower the more I like it.Mr simpson rarely dissappoints

Great overhead shots of HCT! But they still make the building look rather short - it's not really as tall as we'd like to believe, is it? ;)

Its a really pretty building IMO - (well apart from the back)

I wonder how much the window cleaners are going to get paid!

The next thing i am really looking forward to is seeing the lighting scheme at the top

The last picture is amazing, I love that Orion acts as it wants a bit of the action and is slowly rising up behind Westside and still quite a bit more to come for Orion :yes:

All we need now is another tower on the opposite corner of Holloway, a tower on that shity car park and the Paradise Cirucs towers ;)

Awesome pics there, especially this one!!



http://www.firsthouse.co.uk/images/library/midlandtowns_gallery/images/Beetham%20Tower%202.jpg

Since they started cladding that final gap up the middle this tower has just.. rocketed up in my books. Its superb.. and so the back aint to everyone's taste but... adds a certain quirk to the tower don't you think?? Nonetheless.. its been an enjoyable time watching its construction (even though those first few months of a muddy trench seemed never ending, lol).

sorry if it has already bee nanswered, but I work in the Holloway Circus itself. What are they gonna do with it ?

Those two half-arsed spikes at the back though - they were supposed to be the two antennae that would have added another, say, 70-80 feet to the top of the structure. Bloody interfering CAA c***s! :evil:

Those two half-arsed spikes at the back though - they were supposed to be the two antennae that would have added another, say, 70-80 feet to the top of the structure. Bloody interfering CAA c***s! :evil:


Ah but antennae's can be added at a later date though. like sears in chicago did recently, as soon as a company needs a new antennae in the city, the first place they will surely look is HCT

Are we entirely sure that the spikes are a replacement for the antennae?? Its just lookin at those aerial shots shows two squares in the top of the tower, now I havnt the foggiest about this construction procedure stuff malarky, but it seems odd to have two squares set into the building, so could two spires not be being planted into them? and the spikes are just decoration for the silver back?

I hope you're right and two majestic spires are going to rise, however if you're not right it poses the question..Just what are those two squares for?..

i would have thought that those squares were where doors came out so that you can gain access to the roof

Well..... things can always be even BETTER!

1 - HCT at its original intended height of 540 ft! ;)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/HCTextra1.jpg

2 - HCT as I would have liked it to have been! 750ft+ :D :D

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/HCTextra2.jpg

3 - HCT given a more substantial stretching to 900ft+ :laugh:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/HCTextra3.jpg

4 - HCT scraping the Birmingham skies at a more vindicative 1,393 ft!! :lol:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/HCTextra4.jpg

5 - HCT becomes Britain's first 2,000ft high building!!!! SUCK ON THAT, LONDON BRIDGE TOWER!!!! :rofl:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/HCTextra5.jpg

Fuck.

:lol: nice one martin, people on the top floors must have a hard time doing yoga and other things that require balance.

Woe betide the residents of Nos 4 and 5 in a strong gale force wind! :runaway:

1 - HCT at its original intended height of 540 ft! ;)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/mckopper/HCTextra1.jpg

[
:cry:

What is the height of HCT anyway?......and why was it reduced?....