Cornerblock tour report
Contributed by Sarah Worth, West Midlands Chapter Lead
On 3rd December 2024, Don’t Waste Buildings new West Midlands Chapter held a tour in Birmingham of Cornerblock, a 1980s commercial building that was perceived as obsolete and outdated for modern tenants.
Bruntwood SciTech bought the building and appointed Howells to oversee the design as a retrofit project.
The result has delivered a 25% increase in workplace and made it far more flexible than its predecessor, added new high spec space to Birmingham's CBD over 90% of which was let within a year of completion and a building which has continued to evolve in-line with customer and market demand.
We were fortunate to have a tour with Rob Valentine, Director of Birmingham for Bruntwood Works, who explained that they find a retrofit and reuse model works for them, saving money and time on new build.
Sandeep Shambi, Partner at Howells, demonstrated how, despite perceived constraints, such as a smaller core and 'tricky' access, the building actually had a solid frame for deep retrofit which would meet the brief for the development, and how, with small structural changes, the building has been completely transformed.
This was a great case study of what can be achieved with 'normal' building stock.
We often see retrofit and reuse as being suited for heritage buildings or those with covetable features, but here is an example of the superb return on investment for an unloved building too.
The art of the possible when developer, architect and planners are aligned.
(Images courtesy of Sarah Worth and Howells)