45 Church Street | Church Street | 60m* | 14 fl | Comp.

[bileduct]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

And although it's horribly out of place the 70s one has a certain dated charm about it, sure it's hideous, but give it a couple of years (decades) it may have come back into fashion.

Ha! Even as arch eyesore-defender and pro-sixties-seventies whinger-in-chief I can't bring myself to say a nice word about the brown Peat House. The new one may not be great but it's certainly an improvement to my eye.

I love Nat West though - a far subtler and more contextual building than the shiny lump that was the last design I saw for a replacement IMO.

[Bachy Soletanche]

I like the Skater slope thing at the base!

The new one is an improvment I suppose. As I've said before I like the one next to the Nat west Builing and the Council House with Starbucks (oh, dear) in it, classical with moderist form, I'd much rather have that sort of thing than the Peat House replacement.

And I really hate the replacement of the 80s building just around the corner.
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=333914

[bileduct]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

I like the Skater slope thing at the base!

The new one is an improvment I suppose. As I've said before I like the one next to the Nat west Builing and the Council House with Starbucks (oh, dear) in it, classical with moderist form, I'd much rather have that sort of thing than the Peat House replacement.

And I really hate the replacement of the 80s building just around the corner.
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=333914

I'm the opposite way round on them two - with the Starbucks building I'd argue that the vaguely contextual wallpaper doesn't mesh with or adequately make up for the large, ungainly uncontextual shape, while I quite like the way that the Newhall Street building has contextual red terracotta at the base and up to the cornice line to connect it to the buildings around it, with uncontextual glass where the building breaks through the street's cornice line, and the two materials interlocking in the middle.

Slight over-use of the word "contextual" there, perhaps. Oh well.

[Bachy Soletanche]

I think you got away with it, they were in context.

[U475 Foxtrot]

Tower crane going up at Peat House this afternoon

[Bachy Soletanche]

How old is that building next to the pub? I'm I don't remember it being there before the last time I went to Brum, maybe it was and I just didn't notice.

Wonder what was there before.

[woodhousen]

if ur talking about the red brick one then thats the price water cooper offices for birmingham

[Biosonic]

Well it's about time PWC got themselves a nice new office block isn't it?

Good to see another tower crane going up in Brum - thanks Foxy

[morestoreysplease]

Does anybody know how this is going to be demolished and rebuilt? Are they keeping the first 2 floors?

[Bachy Soletanche]

Originally Posted by morestoreysplease

Does anybody know how this is going to be demolished and rebuilt? Are they keeping the first 2 floors?

I wouldn't have thought so. Looks like it's all going.

So instead of a very 70s averagness sticking out like a sore thumb in the area, we now have a very naughties averagness sticking out like a sore thumb. Which is sort of Progress I suppose...

[brumthom]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

I wouldn't have thought so. Looks like it's all going.

So instead of a very 70s averagness sticking out like a sore thumb in the area, we now have a very naughties averagness sticking out like a sore thumb. Which is sort of Progress I suppose...

quite

[Engels]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

I wouldn't have thought so. Looks like it's all going.

So instead of a very 70s averagness sticking out like a sore thumb in the area, we now have a very naughties averagness sticking out like a sore thumb. Which is sort of Progress I suppose...

Nah i dsagree.. Glass based frontages stick out a lot less in heritage areas (not that this really is) certainly bettre thatn concrete.. they basically reflect the nice surroundings.

Besides i quite like the Renders..

Another crane to add to the growing number, it seems Brum is finally starting to pick up the pace again.

[anishkpatel]

fyi- cornwall court was gutted, and completed redone inside a few years ago.... the interior won best interior design 2004.... and is what other new pwc offices will try and emulate when they are done up.

so i dont see pwc moving anywhere soon....!

(sitting in c.court now lol)

[woodhousen]

yes, i have been inside a few times visiting mates....and even though on the outside it might look a little dull, inside is a massive full height atrium letting tonnes of light in...a quite nice supprise!

[mahill]

Originally Posted by CargoHold

See Ya !

The old Peat House is so ugly that even though i'd walked past it many times before, I think I must have blocked out the memory of it, since I never really noticed it being that Goddamn ugly. It's like Natwests dumpy, ugly, plain sister, and much as I love the Natwest tower, it's hardly a looker in the first place anyway.

The replacement? Agree that it is out of place in this location, but I do like it, it looks good and a funky-glass-tower-thing-at-the-side-look, and it will do a bit to ease the grade-A office shortage.

[mahill]

here's the crane up:


and here's Cornwall Court from the Great Charles Street footbridge:

[Bachy Soletanche]

Do you we think that's another shot for the Art-deco thread?

Not sure about that, Cornwell Court almost works and looks great, but there's something slightly heavy about it, maybe if they used a slighty lighter brick colour, maybe.

Looks 80s, not in a bad way though.

[Engels]

Awful and dead at street level.. wish they'd replace it.

[Bachy Soletanche]

But it's on a dual Carrageway, when they built it no one walked along there for fun did they??