{"id":317067,"date":"2025-12-15T11:10:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/317067\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:10:11","slug":"fcbs-completes-terracotta-clad-office-building-in-birmingham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/317067\/","title":{"rendered":"FCBS completes terracotta-clad office building in Birmingham"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Three Chamberlain Square is the latest building to complete as part of the \u00a31.2 billion 17-acre Paradise Birmingham masterplan.<\/p>\n<p>When completed, the masterplan will provide 10 buildings, including Grade A office space, retail and leisure venues, a four-star hotel and a residential tower, all arranged around a series of public squares and pedestrian routes.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-810171\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FCBS-3CHSQ-003.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Three Chamberlain Square mixes commercial office space with retail at ground floor level. It has a fa\u00e7ade composed of over 8,000 red fluted terracotta piers with glazing sitting above red metal panels. The piers\u2019 verticality echoes that of surrounding buildings, including the Corinthian columns of the adjacent Town Hall.<\/p>\n<p>At street level, the fa\u00e7ade steps back, with the piers bunching to form sculptural metal ogee arches over retail frontages. The decorative shape reflects motifs seen on nearby Victorian buildings, such as the Birmingham School of Art. The step-back also creates an implied arcade over the retail units at street level.<\/p>\n<p>At the top, the building\u2019s form again slopes back, the piers joining together to create a decorative crown that unifies its silhouette and conceals rooftop plant and workspaces.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-810193\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FCBS-3CHSQ-020.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Fully electric and fossil fuel-free, the building has over 250 windows that are openable for natural ventilation. The structure includes post-tensioned concrete slabs and no-pile foundations. Internally, low-carbon materials used include mycelium-based internal finishes, wood wool acoustic panels, lime wash paint and natural fibre floor finishes. These contribute to an embodied carbon figure of 449 kgCO\u2082e\/m\u00b2.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-810226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FCBS-3CHSQ-053.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Architect\u2019s view<\/p>\n<p>Our aim was to design a building that feels deeply connected to its surroundings while setting a new standard for the future of the workplace. Three Chamberlain Square is more than just an office, it\u2019s a catalyst for change. Sustainable, inclusive, beautifully crafted and unapologetically urban, it\u2019s a place the city can truly be proud of.<br \/>Alina White, partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios<\/p>\n<p class=\"picture\">\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-810250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PX-FCBS-PF-I-8060-Ground-Floor-annotated-scaled.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Project data<\/p>\n<p>Location Birmingham<br \/>Start on site May 2023<br \/>Completion June 2025<br \/>Gross internal floor area 23,318m2<br \/>Construction cost Undisclosed<br \/>Architect Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios<br \/>Executive architect Weedon Architects<br \/>Client MEPC<br \/>Investor\/developer Federated Hermes<br \/>Structural engineer Cundall<br \/>M&amp;E consultant Cundall<br \/>QS AtkinsR\u00e9alis<br \/>Planning consultant Turley<br \/>Access consultant Meinhardt<br \/>BREEAM Assessor CCC Project Services<br \/>Fa\u00e7ade subcontractor Inasus<br \/>MEP subcontractor King and Moffit<br \/>STR subcontractor MPB Structures<br \/>Project manager AtkinsR\u00e9alis<br \/>Main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine<\/p>\n<p class=\"picture\">\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-810263\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PX-FCBS-PF-I-8065-East-West-Section-scaled.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Environmental performance data<\/p>\n<p>Percentage of floor area with daylight factor &gt;2% Not assessed<br \/>Percentage of floor area with daylight factor &gt;5% Not assessed<br \/>On-site energy generation 27,175kWh\/year from PVs<br \/>Annual mains water consumption Not supplied<br \/>Airtightness at 50Pa 2.49 m3\/h.m2)<br \/>Heating and hot water load DHW 119,015 kWh\/yr; heating 58,333 kWh\/yr (as built)<br \/>Operational energy 803,607 kWh\/yr (landlord spaces)<br \/>Basebuild landlord energy load use 48 kWh\/m2\/yr<br \/>Predicted design life 50 years<br \/>Embodied carbon 449 kgCO2eq\/m2<br \/>Whole-life carbon 805 kgCO2eq\/m2<br \/>Annual CO2\u00a0emissions Not supplied<br \/>Energy Performance Certificate rating A<br \/>BREEAM Outstanding<br \/>NABERS UK rating 5 stars<br \/>Wired Score\/Active Score Platinum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three Chamberlain Square is the latest building to complete as part of the \u00a31.2 billion 17-acre Paradise Birmingham&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-317067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}