Island House, Birmingham

Office in Birmingham, United Kingdom
52°28′50″N 1°53′27″W / 52.4806°N 1.8907°W / 52.4806; -1.8907Completed1912 (1912)Demolished2012Technical detailsFloor count3Design and constructionArchitect(s)G. E. Pepper

Island House was a locally listed building in Birmingham's Eastside area, with a roughly triangular footprint. It was built in 1912 by the architect G. E. Pepper,[1] in the Edwardian Mannerist style, ornately decorated with both Ionic and Doric decorations.[2] Originally it was designed to be used as office building and warehouse for the prominent “Messrs Churchill & Co” machine tool company. The opening ceremony of Island House was held in 1913.[2]

Located next to the Masshouse developments, Island House was[when?] occupied by teams from Birmingham City Council's arts team, including Film Birmingham, Urban Fusion and ArtsFest. The building was used in conjunction with other establishments in the city, including the Ikon Gallery.

Although Island House's future was jeopardised by the City Park Gate development, the building (along with a local public house, the Fox and Grapes) was included in these plans; with a refurbishment and an upwards extension designed by Make Architects for Quintain.[3]

Shortly before demolition in February 2012

In early 2012 there was a campaign to save Island House, after Quintain had applied for permission to demolish. Permission, in principle, was given by Birmingham City Council Planning Committee on 26 January 2012, however, it emerged there was an outstanding Section 106 agreement for refurbishment.[4] Quintain applied for permission to vary the Section 106 agreement, [5] but later withdrew the application, claiming that since no building work had commenced they did not need to honour the Section 106 Agreement.

The building was subsequently demolished in 2012.[2]

References

  1. ^ Foster, Andy (2007) [2005]. Birmingham. Pevsner Architectural Guides. Yale University Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-300-10731-9.
  2. ^ a b c "Island House, Birmingham: 100 years of history demolished". www.brumitecture.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  3. ^ "City Park Gate, Birmingham City Park Gate, Birmingham, United Kingdom". designbuild-network. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  4. ^ Elkes, Neil (27 January 2012). "Demolition of Birmingham city centre's Island House begins despite claims of legal agreement". birminghammail. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  5. ^ Elkes, Neil (2 February 2012). "Birmingham City Council to put pressure on Island House owners to prevent demolition". Business Live. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Island House, Birmingham.
  • Birmingham Urban designer and Victorian Society Case Worker, Joe Holyoak on the campaign to save the building
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