Birmingham Council House Extension
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Facade viewed from Chamberlain Square
Thomas Lewis Download Original
Extension to council house, accommodating more offices, art galleries and exhibition spaces, as well as a bridge connecting to council properties on the opposite block
Ashley and Winton Architects were briefed to build an extension to the to the north of the council buildings, and to connect to it an intricately designed corridor-come-archway. The building sits on an island site, owned by the council, which measures 7995metre-squared.
The extension contains much of the museum and art gallery space and, on its ground floor, the Gas Hall, which is now also an exhibition space. It runs along Great Charles Street, backing onto the other council buildings of Edmund Street, Margaret Street, and Congreve Street.
Each department within the extensions is planned to have its own entrance to the street, and public acess through these departments is limited. However the natural history museum extends the length of the building, connecting the southern end with the marble staricase to the new gallery hall.
The archway or bridge connects the modern art gallery on Edmund Street to the Round Room opposite. It is intended to resemble the The Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Its interior is designed as a gallery space. The floors are finished in marble and mosaic, in a similar style to the new art gallery. The latter also features green marble columns.
The interiors are largely simple, given that a majority of the rooms are offices. However the art galleries received more elaborate treatment; their ceilings being coved and fitted out with cornices, friezes, architraves, and horizontal sunblinds. The floors are oak and the gangways brown linoleum.
Data
- Begun: 1911
- Completed: 1912
- Sector: Civic
- Address: Council House, Great Charles Street, Birmingham, B1 1BB, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: H. V. Ashley and Winton
- Client: Birmingham City Council
- General Contractor: The Building Construction Co.
- Engineer: Whitaker, Hall & Owen
- Consultant engineer: Mr. W. M. Binney
Suppliers
- Mosaic: Rust's Vitreous Mosaic Co
- Plasterwork: G. P. Bankart
- Stone carving: W. B. Fagan
- Marble work: H. T. Jenkins & Son