Orion Building
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The main tower of the Orion Building with Sirius under construction to the right.
The Orion Building is a 90-metre (295 ft) tall high rise residential building on Navigation Street, Birmingham, England. Construction of the tower began in 2004 with demolition of the previous building on the site, and was completed in 2007. As part of the development, the original façades of some of the previous buildings have been retained and incorporated into the lowrise sections of the complex. The complex consists of a 28 storey tower with five basement floors. It consists of the city's first penthouse which was sold for £1.65 million.[2] The penthouse is located at the top of the tower.
[edit] Planning history
The first planning application for the Orion Building was submitted on December 3, 2001 to Birmingham City Council. It was approved on April 25, 2002.[3] Soon after gaining planning permission, the scheme encountered problems. The original contractor, Carillion plc, fell out with Crosby Homes and construction on the site stopped. Carillion quit their involvement on the scheme and Taylor Woodrow took over with construction recommencing soon after.[4] Before construction of phases 1 and 2 commenced, all of the 150 apartments had been sold.[5] The next planning application was submitted on October 10, 2002 for the second phase of the scheme. It was approved on July 8, 2003.[6] Another planning application was submitted for the reuse of 93-97 John Bright Street, a listed building, as apartments and retail. It was submitted on June 25, 2004 and was approved on October 2, 2005.[7] On October 5, 2004, Crosby Homes submitted a planning application to add another four floors to the tower and another storey to the block adjacent to it. Alterations were also made to the layouts of the apartments between floors 10 and 19 to provide a further 29 flats. The planning application was approved on December 16, 2004.[8] The building was constructed in three phases with Phase 1 being the corner on Navigation Street and John Bright Street and the John Bright Street frontage. Phase 2 is a low rise element to the complex that fronts on to Navigation Street whilst Phase 3 is the main tower overlooking Suffolk Street Queensway.[9]
[edit] Features
The 200 apartments within the complex have been designed by John Rocha, the fashion designer, who claims it as a "fashion first". On the ground floor, there are four retail units, one of which is occupied by Crosby Lend Lease.[10] All the retail units provide 12,500 square feet (1,161 m2) of space together. The first retail unit of 3,176 square feet (295 m2) was let to Venture Portrait. The second retail unit of 3,000 square feet (279 m2) was let to Bathstore. The third retail unit of 1,628 square feet (151 m2) was let to DAMAC Properties. Shopfront Property Consultants acted on behalf of Crosby on the sale of the long leasehold interest.[11] DAMAC Properties have since moved out.[12]
The tower is illuminated at night by strips of LEDs.
The top part of the tower is completely glass. Below this, the tower consists of strips of glass set within pre-cast concrete panels. The pre-cast concrete panels were painted in varying tones of beige after the construction. The reason for this was unknown, however in December 2006 these patches were painted over in a single colour.
[edit] Phase 4
Phase 4, the final phase of the Orion scheme, is currently under construction. It is being marketed separate to the Orion Building and is named Sirius.[13] As of August 2008, the scaffolding and sheeting covering the façade of the structure are being removed. The construction of Sirius was aided by two tower cranes. The complex will consist of 182 one and two bedroom apartments[13] and 8,240 square feet (766 m2) in five retail units.[11] It incorporates the Victorian façade of 99 John Bright Street.[14] The scheme is estimated to cost £35 million.[15]
[edit] Criticism
The architecture of the Orion Building has been attacked by critics. The Times newspaper named it as one of the ugliest new buildings in Britain in August 2007.[16]
The main tower of the Orion Building during the removal of scaffolding.
The Orion Building from ground level.
