page_title: Architecture of Birmingham
section_title: Domestic architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Birmingham / Post-World War II architecture / Domestic architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Birmingham's first post-war multi-storey flats in Nechells. Verticals corrected.
context_page_description: Although Birmingham in England has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with little surviving from its early history. As it has expanded, it has acquired a variety of architectural styles. Buildings of most modern architectural styles in the United Kingdom are located in Birmingham. In recent years, Birmingham was one of the first cities to exhibit the blobitecture style with the construction of the Selfridges store at the Bullring Shopping Centre.
  Birmingham is a young city, having grown rapidly as a result of the Industrial Revolution starting in the 18th century. There are very few buildings remaining in Birmingham prior to this. Further loss has been demonstrated through the effects of war and redevelopment, especially following World War II. Industrialisation and planning policies have also led to Victorian buildings being demolished but the prosperity brought with it led to some of the city's grandest buildings being constructed, although in turn many of these are being or have been demolished.
context_section_description: Slum clearance, the increase in the population of Birmingham and the destruction of housing during the Birmingham Blitz led to the council constructing thousands of housing units all over the city. Mostly designed by the City Architect of Birmingham and the Public Works Department at the council, the schemes focussed on high-density housing in low-cost builds.
  The immediate need for housing straight after the war was tackled by constructing prefabricated bungalows. Initially, the city council resisted constructing them due to the lack of materials and labour. However, the council eventually constructed 2,500 whilst a further 2,000 were constructed on private plots. They were provided initially to those who were displaced by the destruction of their homes. These structures were intended to be temporary, although many lasted longer than they were intended. A row of sixteen listed single storey Phoenix prefabs, built 1945 under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act still exist on Wake Green Road and a 1940s Arcon V prefab was disassembled from Moat Lane in Yardley and transported to Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in 1981 where it remains on display. Following the provision of these temporary structures, the local authority looked to providing permanent housing units.
  In July 1949, the city council approved a plan by the Birmingham COPEC Housing Improvement Society Ltd. to construct twenty flats for single women in Cob Lane. The council had been against flats initially as they had seen them as being unnecessary for their cost. However, as Birmingham's population expanded and the demand for housing increased, the idea of building flats and maisonettes across the city became more popular. Eventually, the city council acknowledged that there was a need for flats and started a programme to provide such properties for Birmingham's citizens.
  Starting in the 1950s, a total of 464 tower blocks above six storeys were built in Birmingham, 7% of all the tower blocks constructed in the United Kingdom, with the first Birmingham tower blocks being built in Duddeston, part of the Nechells and Duddeston Redevelopment Area, in the late-1950s. They were designed by S.N. Cooke and Partners and proved to be extremely costly for the city council. In 1960, the Lyndhurst estate in Erdington was completed and the entire estate won a Civic Trust award in 1961. The main tower block on the estate, the 16 storey Harlech Tower, became the tallest tower block in the city, although it was later surpassed by many more tower blocks including the 32 storey Sentinels in the city centre, which were inspired by the Marina City complex in Chicago. Stephenson Tower was another city-centre tower block, located on top of New Street station, although the refurbishment of New Street station saw the demolition of the tower. A group of four tower blocks located behind The Rep Theatre on Broad Street have also undergone an extensive renovation to improve their insulation and appearance.
  The largest high-rise housing estate in Britain was constructed at Castle Vale with 34 tower blocks on the site of Castle Bromwich Aerodrome. This became an unpopular area as it began to suffer from social deprivation and crime whilst the buildings were poorly constructed leading to maintenance issues. To tackle the downward spiral of the estate, one of the largest tower block demolition and renovation programmes anywhere in Europe began in Castle Vale, with the construction of new buildings, squares and green public open spaces.
caption: Birmingham's first post-war multi-storey flats in Nechells.
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