“The West Midlands isn’t a basket case, but it’s had problems,” says Glenn Howells. “Even before the recession, many parts of the region were struggling because moving from a manufacturing to a service economy hasn’t been an unqualified success.”
Howell is arguably the most well-known architect in Birmingham, and looking out of his office windows you see what he means. On one side rises the distinctive skyline of new Birmingham – the Bullring and Selfridges. On another are the ageing acres of industrial Eastside and derelict Digbeth, still awaiting regeneration.
“Until we get traction in this region’s economy it will be hard to talk about a property recovery: no one will build without it,” he says. “The West Midlands will get better but it needs investment, and the private sector will not do it on its own.”
Howells does not believe that the West Midlands’ case for regeneration and investment has been aided by the scrapping of regional development agencies such as Advantage West Midlands.
While he admits that AWM has its inefficiencies, he argues the body has initiated development across the region via start-ups and, without it, there is a danger of investment being concentrated in centres such as Birmingham and Coventry.
The loosening of regional development contrasts with London, where strategy is becoming more integrated. “I’m not concerned what body it is but it needs to be something wider than just Birmingham,” he says. “We need something that integrates and directs investment, because it’s not best left to the private sector.”
That view from his office towards Eastside has preoccupied Howells of late. His eponymous practice has been rewriting the masterplan for Birmingham’s Eastside – an £8bn project to regenerate 420 acres of bricked-up pubs and engineering sheds. It unraveled as schemes were cancelled and the government decided that the High Speed 2 rail link, along with a station, would plough straight through the site.
Howells says that although Birmingham city council’s decision to rewrite the Eastside strategy was controversial, it was “brave and right” because it gave comfort and security to the development community and allowed the city to think about how this newly reshaped area should fit in with the rest of the city. With land prices returning to normal, he argues that now is the time to start investing in the region.
He adds: “The former masterplan had nine different projects on it and a diagonal red line, representing HS2, cutting straight through most of them. However, rather than making things worse, the HS2 announcement came at the perfect time, as it allowed us to really think about how it should be included in plans.
“It’s meant that the city has had to reconsider what it’s doing, but Eastside gets a new station and the problems caused by it coming here are preferable to it not coming at all.”
It was understandable why the council hired Howells to take a fresh look at Eastside: the architect made his name in central Birmingham as a one-man band. He redesigned the nearby, derelict Bird’s Custard Factory into a creative arts centre, revamped the Rotunda from dowdy, dated offices into a desirable city living location, and designed Eleven Brindleyplace, which was last year named Best of the Best by the British Council for Offices.
As Howell’s reputation has grown, so has the scale on which his practice operates. It has produced masterplans for city centres including Stoke and Worcester, as well as Paradise Circus – the 8-acre site in the heart of the Birmingham’s financial district.
But although the scale of his designs has grown, his fondness for big and iconic ideas seems to have been tempered. He has disdain for low-density developments, which have huge car-parks attached to buildings, and a preference for more modest schemes.
“Places like Birmingham should be landmark cities, not a collection of landmark buildings,” he says. “Small-scale developments, like Electric Wharf in Coventry, make a great city, they make it a livable place. The most interesting masterplans are those with fine-grain detail, with a mix of uses and architecture.”
Howells argues that one good thing to have emerged in the Midlands during the recession has been the quality of development: rather than suppressing good design, the slowdown has led to better buildings.
He adds: “You don’t get poor buildings in recession. It’s during boom times, when there’s a rush to build and quick returns, when you get poor quality. The difference between a poor building and great one isn’t money, it’s time to come up with ideas, details and context. Most of our best buildings don’t have excessive budgets but they do have a lot of attention.”
Glenn Howells: a record
The son of a builder, Howells founded Glenn Howells Associates 21 years ago and has offices in London and Birmingham. The practice has won more than 60 awards and its Savill building in Windsor Great Park was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.
Notable schemes include The National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire; Castlefields masterplan in Manchester; Lime Street Gateway in Liverpool; and St Peter’s Square, Manchester.
The 50-year-old lives with his family in Edgbaston, Birmingham, and spends his spare time skiing, walking and canoeing.
What others think of Howells
“Glenn has had a huge influence on developments, but his long-term influence will be judged by what he achieves with places, rather than buildings, as his masterplanning influences hundreds of acres across the region. He speaks more like a paid-up member of the human race than an architect.”
Ian Stringer, director, GVA
“It’s easy to sum up why working with Glenn is a delight. There’s an incredible culture of curiosity throughout the whole practice. It’s easy for design to drown under a weight of consultation, but Glenn and his staff tackle the whole business of talking and listening with such relish which adds to, rather than detracts from, momentum and fun.”
Kevin McCloud, broadcaster and designer
Clive Dutton, regeneration, planning & property director, Newham council
