Masshouse Circus Redevelopment, Birmingham
About the Project
- Principal designer: Gifford & Partners
- Client: Birmingham City Council
- Principal contractor: Birse Civils
- Contract value: £24.2 million
For decades, Birmingham was constrained by the barrier of its old inner ring road - nicknamed locally 'the concrete collar'.
The Masshouse Circus scheme aimed, through an extensive series of demolitions and construction of major pieces of infrastructure, to break through and open up the city's Eastside for development.
Masshouse is adjacent to the Bullring, the largest city centre retail
development in Europe. The task was to carry out detailed design, win
planning permission, agree a lump sum price and carry out construction
within a daunting 18 month period.
The result was an at grade junction which gave pedestrians priority throughout. Client, contractor and designer chose to share a single office, while major efforts were concentrated on liaisons with the public and organisations like Aston University and local churches' needs for quiet and vibration-free periods.
The scheme also sought
to minimise the environmental impact of the scheme - for
example by reusing around 20,000m3 of reinforced concrete.
The Judges said:
"The Masshouse Circus Redevelopment was the key to opening up Birmingham's Eastside redevelopment, replacing the old inner ring-road's concrete collar, elevated structures and uninviting subways. Impressive, intelligent touches also included the use of reinforced earth structures to increase construction speed. Urban regeneration at its best."