![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=140&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=897c66318a17d2a3131ba2483beb20e5 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=f918c68824aa0398025f1cb52a7e098d 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=512&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=8c36fadbb1e48672e2f8f7e65c41d819 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=683&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=4b03be543214d2e79638857891589660 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=933&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=c65b5c62010b3d0271a7bd6d3a78f467 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1067&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=fd139296a3583f475c5dba16d5a8e0a3 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=0c50b9e378d5b21fb45a821081cd27fa 1920w)
1 Centenary Square is located between Seifert’s Alpha Tower and Thomas Cecil Howitt’s 1930s Municipal Bank, both Grade II-listed, and faces Centenary Square and Mecanoo’s new Library of Birmingham. With such a mixture of landmark architecture in the area, the building is deliberately deferential in style to its neighbours, influenced in scale and materiality but not competing for attention.
In scale, plan and character the three-level building mediates between the low and high levels of its neighbours. Facing the bank and Centenary Square, the building is 7 storeys high, stepping back to 10 storeys and then again to 12. At the same time, the building twists out in orientation towards Alpha Tower.
As the building pivots, so too does the depth of cladding, which is formed of a woven glass-reinforced concrete that replicates the tone, texture and civic nature of the Portland stone that clads many of the nearby heritage buildings on Centenary Square.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=315&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=429dec3dd7661d5e7c7b8ba5e68f5876 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=630&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=ee384967c5ab4e041f2a21b15104b042 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1152&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=41e21b7a168ff6c78e49c9ed4ddfe667 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1536&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=c2306f3852713a8909e48d26507db609 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2100&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=6778b6265b5eb4912e0a274b6877fa85 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2400&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=24f779d1909c40902e0b23f858acfa0c 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F12%2F1CentenarySquare-Make-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2880&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=d5f9ad3ca5753816d120e8b514d539e5 1920w)
The distinct elevations respond to their locations accordingly: towards Centenary Square the building portrays a very formal, orthogonal civic facade with a triple-height portico to relate to the 1930s bank. To the east the slightly chamfered elevation reflects and respects the vertical sheerness of Alpha Tower, while to the south-west the weave becomes much more articulated and playful, stepping back down in scale to provide a more people-friendly face to a new pedestrianised square, Bank Court, which forms the heart of the Arena Central site. A second entrance into the building is located here.
Greg Willis said: “We’ve been working with ACDL since 2007. It is a prime site on the boundary of the civic quarter and at the heart of the city. The letting to HSBC has been crucial for the city’s latest reinvention, and it is wonderful to see such an important building for the city open its doors.
“We’ve used materials that echo the civic quarter’s Portland Stone buildings in a modern way. The weave announces the building without overstating its presence and also helps to break down the mass of such a large plot.
“The new Bank Court square will be a great amenity for the area. Once further plots are delivered – we are currently on site with HMRC’s new Birmingham home at 3 Arena Central and have just secured planning for The Exchange for University of Birmingham, which is moving into the Grade II-listed Municipal Bank – we expect this to be a hub of activity, transforming the site and knitting it into the wider context, allowing people to cross the site for the first time.”
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The 8.9m high reception is deliberately grand in scale with a jesmonite wall that echoes the weave on the external detailing. The interior fit-out, designed by tp bennett was tailored to suit the needs of HSBC’s new ring-fenced bank. The building needed to accommodate a combination of spaces including workplace, client meeting suite, staff restaurant, cafe, HSBC university training facility, and a staff fitness centre.
A key priority for tp bennett was to create a unique identity for the new HSBC UK headquarters and provide a workspace designed for staff wellbeing.
To enhance connectivity between the various facilities and teams within the building tp bennett introduced an 11-story feature staircase within the building atrium.
The building has secured Birmingham’s first ever LEED Gold rating. This ranks it as one of Birmingham’s most sustainable office buildings, thanks in part to the materials selected which optimise energy performance, certified wood and materials with a high recycled content. There are also 300 sq m brown roofs on Level 7 and 10, and energy-efficient MEP systems.