Timber Yard, Birmingham, UK - latest update

Work has commenced on the build of Timber Yard, a residential scheme in the Southside area of Birmingham.  

Take the post for more on this build.

Timber Yard is a residential scheme in the Southside area of Birmingham designed by Claridge Architects.

It is one of several projects brought forward by joint-venture developers Apsley House Capital and Galliard Homes, and the first one to have reached a construction stage.

The project includes 379 apartments spread across two buildings ranging from 7 to 14 storeys, lots of private and public green space, plenty of ground floor commercial space, private gym for residents, concierge, cinema and 95 car park spaces.

There’s going to be 10 commercial units for shops and restaurants on the ground floor and all located on Skinner Lane. These will benefit from a number of bespoke, timber benches placed along this street.

A planning application was submitted in November 2017 with approval granted in October 2018. There was a brief delay in approving the scheme as objections were raised by local club owners, who feared that presence of apartments in immediate vicinity of their clubs could lead to noise complaints from future residents, which in turn could lead to the clubs being forced to close.

Following these complaints, the developer held a meeting with the club owners and reassured them that all the bedroom windows would be sufficiently sound-proofed.

Architecture & Massing

One of the scheme’s objectives is to restore the urban grain in the area, as the plot has been nothing but a surface car park since the 70s which has had a negative visual impact on the landscape.

The density of this scheme is in keeping with buildings around it and also takes into account future projects, namely Smithfield.

The development acts as a transition between Smithfield and other residential builds to the west and north.

The city planners weren’t supportive of the originally proposed 19-storey building at the corner of Pershore Street and Skinner Lane and so the height was reduced to 14-storeys, only as tall as necessary to mark the corner.

The design directly reflects the area’s context, with the most used material in the area being red and brown brick, hence why brick has been chosen for this development, albeit of a slightly different colour.

The brick chosen is somewhat paler and has a more contemporary feel, but compliments its surroundings.

The site is bounded by four streets, and the composition of façade differs to an extent on each of the streets to reflect the immediate vicinity. For example, because Hurst Street is quite a narrow road with high pedestrian footfall and a lot of shops, it felt appropriate that the façade facing this road should assume a more vertical expression.

On the other hand, blocks facing Skinner Lane and Pershore Street have façades with wider openings and horizontal expressions as the roads are wider and are not major pedestrian routes.

Public Space & Greenery

The block breaks up in two places which allows for creation of two public pocket parks, one on Skinner Lane and one on Claybrook Street.

There’s a large communal private garden in the courtyard on which grass, fern, shrubs and trees will be planted in an informal arrangement. A pedestrian route with benches will run through the garden, and give off a light woodland feel.

Further greenery is going to be created along Claybrook Street with a wide planting strip created running along the full length of the street and varieties of indigenous wild flowers will be planted on the roof to create bio-diverse gardens.

It is one of the first pieces of puzzle in the continuous regeneration of this part of Birmingham, with a number of other schemes underway or proposed.

Tomas Grunt

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard1.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard.jpg" style="width: 100%;" /> Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard 2.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard 3.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard 6.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard 4.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/timber yard 5.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Artist impression by Claridge Architects

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Construction of Timber Yard - March 2019.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Photo by Stephen Giles

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Construction of Timber Yard - April 2019.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Photo by Stephen Giles