Post and Mail building, Birmingham
Encyclopedia
The Birmingham Post and Mail building was constructed in the 1960s and was a symbol of the rebuilding of Birmingham
, England
following the devastation of World War II
.
(partner in charge, D.V. Smith, project architects Ronald E. Cordin and Ramon K. Wood). It was one of the earliest buildings to follow the podium and slab block form of architecture inspired by Lever House
in New York City
and it became the oldest example of such architecture in the UK once the Castrol Building in London
had been redeveloped. It was home to the Birmingham Post
and Evening Mail
newspapers following its completion in 1964.
The tower had a concrete core surrounded by a steel structure designed by Structural Engineers (Roy Bolsover and Associates) who were also the engineers on many other landmark buildings in the Birmingham area during this period. The tower was clad in aluminium
. The concrete beams in the podium were clad in black Argentine
granite
enclosing fillets of white Sicilian
marble
.
At the time of completion, it was hailed as great achievement by Douglas Hickman in his book Birmingham published in 1970 on buildings in Birmingham. John H.D. Madin and Partners used it as their greatest achievement along with Birmingham Central Library
which was completed ten years after the Post and Mail building.
The entrance hall to the tower was located at the left hand end of the podium. To the left of the editorial block is the printing works with a composing room at top, a two-storey publishing area below it, and a machine hall in a deep basement
.
As of November 2005, it was in the late stages of demolition, due to redevelopment of the site. The site will be renamed "Colmore Plaza" and will be turned into office
space. The building will feature a glass façade to allow natural light to enter. Construction has already begun on the building with two tower cranes aiding it. Two concrete cores have been completed and the steel structure has been completed. Attachment of the cladding began in early December 2006. The tower cranes were removed by the end of May 2007 and the building was completed in early 2008.
As of September 2008, only one floor of the office building had been let to tenants.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
following the devastation of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Construction and lifetime
Designed in 1960 by John H.D. Madin and PartnersJohn Madin
John Hardcastle Dalton Madin is an English architect. He was born in Moseley, Birmingham on 23 March 1924. His company, known as John H D Madin & Partners from 1962 and the John Madin Design Group from 1968, were active in Birmingham for over 30 years. Some of the buildings his company designed...
(partner in charge, D.V. Smith, project architects Ronald E. Cordin and Ramon K. Wood). It was one of the earliest buildings to follow the podium and slab block form of architecture inspired by Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and it became the oldest example of such architecture in the UK once the Castrol Building in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
had been redeveloped. It was home to the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
and Evening Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
newspapers following its completion in 1964.
The tower had a concrete core surrounded by a steel structure designed by Structural Engineers (Roy Bolsover and Associates) who were also the engineers on many other landmark buildings in the Birmingham area during this period. The tower was clad in aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
. The concrete beams in the podium were clad in black Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
enclosing fillets of white Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
.
At the time of completion, it was hailed as great achievement by Douglas Hickman in his book Birmingham published in 1970 on buildings in Birmingham. John H.D. Madin and Partners used it as their greatest achievement along with Birmingham Central Library
Birmingham Central Library
Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...
which was completed ten years after the Post and Mail building.
The entrance hall to the tower was located at the left hand end of the podium. To the left of the editorial block is the printing works with a composing room at top, a two-storey publishing area below it, and a machine hall in a deep basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
.
Demolition and redevelopment
During the building's lifetime, two attempts to give it listed status failed and demolition began. Demolition consisted of an excavator being placed on the top of the building and excavating through the building's core. It was deemed unsafe to destroy the building through explosives due to the listed buildings nearby and the disruption it would cause to transport links.As of November 2005, it was in the late stages of demolition, due to redevelopment of the site. The site will be renamed "Colmore Plaza" and will be turned into office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
space. The building will feature a glass façade to allow natural light to enter. Construction has already begun on the building with two tower cranes aiding it. Two concrete cores have been completed and the steel structure has been completed. Attachment of the cladding began in early December 2006. The tower cranes were removed by the end of May 2007 and the building was completed in early 2008.
As of September 2008, only one floor of the office building had been let to tenants.