{"id":779485,"date":"2025-03-26T08:44:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T08:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=779485"},"modified":"2025-03-26T08:59:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T08:59:27","slug":"broadway-malyan-proposes-super-skinny-8-5m-wide-birmingham-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/broadway-malyan-proposes-super-skinny-8-5m-wide-birmingham-tower","title":{"rendered":"Broadway Malyan proposes super-skinny 8.5m-wide Birmingham tower"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AJ100 practice\u2019s Narrowhouse scheme, backed by local developer GNM Developments for a derelict brownfield site at 52 Gas Street Basin, was recently submitted to Birmingham City Council. <\/span><\/p>\n

The scheme is a redesign of a smaller 160-unit co-living development submitted last summer, which featured two blocks, one rising to 14 storeys, the other to eight storeys. Drawn up for the same developer by Broadway Malyan and Glancy Nicholls, those plans were dropped shortly after.<\/p>\n

The new three-part development <\/span>includes the retention of the existing historic former Toll House building facing Gas Street Basin, a six-storey podium building, and a 21-storey tower clad with solar panels.<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, the revised scheme will deliver 12,000m2<\/sup> of gross internal floor area, providing<\/span> space for 249 co-living units and commercial and residential amenities.<\/p>\n

The project team says the Narrowhouse also \u2018aspires to be the world\u2019s tallest multistorey energy-positive development\u2019 and will reuse existing brickwork from a vacant building currently on the site. The fa\u00e7ade features 4,000m2<\/sup> of photovoltaic cladding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Broadway Malyan said the PV cladding would create enough power to serve residents while supplying nearby buildings through a local grid. It will provide power for EV charging docks for cars and canal narrowboats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Broaday Malyan said that the environmental performance of the building will be enhanced by its super-slim profile, which, at 8.5m wide, is understood would be one of the UK\u2019s slenderest residential buildings, if completed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The practice added: \u2018[The scheme sets] a new benchmark for high-density, efficient urban living. The Narrowhouse\u2019s profile supports its energy-positive credentials by maximising the potential for solar energy generation, optimising passive ventilation and gearing and enabling much more efficient energy distribution.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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Broadway Malyan’s earlier 2024 Gas St Basin scheme<\/p>\n\t

Source:Broadway Malyan<\/p><\/div>\n

Broadway Malyan principal Hugo Fitzgerald said: \u2018We are hugely excited to submit these proposals. The Narrowhouse is a pioneering proposal which we hope will set a new benchmark, both in terms of energy-positive and super-slim building design.<\/p>\n

\u2018The proposals ground the development in its history, taking design prompts from wharf building typology and creating an attractive vibrant frontage along an underused part of the city\u2019s extensive canal network. Reusing stacked brick from the original building to form the podium makes the building relatable and, with the retention of the Toll House, echoes the past.<\/p>\n

\u2018The 21-storey tower is entirely clad in an animated BIPV fa\u00e7ade, signalling Birmingham\u2019s ambition to move forward with the use of future developments that could potentially offer positive energy to feed back into the city, supporting the city\u2019s net zero ambitions, while also providing an exciting new place for Birmingham\u2019s population to live.\u2019<\/p>\n

Gerald Manton, managing director of GNM Developments, said: \u2018The Narrowhouse is more than a building, it\u2019s a statement about the future of sustainable urban living. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to position Birmingham as a global leader in sustainable development. With the UK working towards net zero targets and demand for affordable housing increasing, Birmingham is perfectly positioned to lead this transformation.\u2019<\/p>\n

Subject to planning, work on the scheme will start in late 2026, with completion scheduled for 2028.<\/p>\n

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