List of tallest buildings and structures in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area, West Midlands

This article is about the tallest buildings in the English city of Birmingham. For buildings in the U.S. city of the same name, see List of tallest buildings in Birmingham, Alabama.

This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham ranks buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Birmingham by height.

The BT Tower. At 152 metres, the tallest structure in Birmingham since its construction in 1966.

10 Holloway Circus. The tallest habitable building in Birmingham at 122 metres, completed in 2006.

Birmingham currently has five towers completed at a height of 100 metres or more and a further two towers above 100 metres under construction. At (7), this is the third highest number of high rises of any metropolitan area in the United Kingdom after Greater London (over 150) and Greater Manchester (16).

The first structure to reach a height of 100 metres was the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower constructed in 1908 and located in the Bournbrook area of the city.

However, further high-rise development in Birmingham did not begin until the post war development of the 1960s and 1970s as a means to house a high number of residents in and around the city core. During this period two further high rise buildings over 100 metres were constructed - the 152 metre BT Tower which remains the tallest structure in Central Birmingham to this day and the 100 metre Alpha Tower.

High rise development slowed during the 1980s and early 1990s, with few significant proposals coming to fruition. However the turn of the 21st century saw a renewed interested in high rise buildings in Central Birmingham with numerous tall proposals being brought forward. The 122 metre 10 Holloway Circus became the tallest habitable building in Birmingham when completed in 2006 and helped to begin a coherent cluster with the nearby BT Tower and Alpha Tower developments. However due to economic factors and a conservative policy towards tall buildings from Birmingham City Council, the majority of these proposals failed to come to fruition with examples such as the 201 metre Regal Tower and the 200 metre VTP tower never being built.

Unlike some other cities in the United Kingdom, Birmingham has historically had a strict attitude towards approval of high rise buildings. One reason for this is due to the fact Central Birmingham is located on a 110 metre sandstone ridge and as a result, the Civil Aviation Authority has previously imposed a maximum building height limit at 242 metres. Typically, all proposed high rise buildings therefore need consultation with Birmingham airport and any proposed skyscraper over 175 metres need further consultation with the CAA.^[1]

This cautious attitude has again abated somewhat in recent years with a number of tall buildings approved centred mainly in two distinct areas of the city - Westside and Eastside. These approved developments will join the central business district in creating a number of tower clusters in the city and include the first four official habitable skyscrapers in Birmingham.

In the Westside of Central Birmingham the 132 metre The Mercian residential tower is currently under construction and will become the tallest habitable building in Central Birmingham when completed in 2022. This will be surpassed by the approved nearby 193 metre 100 Broad Street residential tower due for completion in 2024 which will overtake the BT Tower as the tallest building in the city. This tower will become the third tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London. Other significant developments in the Westside include the recently completed 102 metre The Bank Tower as well as the approved 117 metre 211 Broad Street and 100 metre Axis Square residential developments.

The Eastside of Central Birmingham will be home to the 155 metre approved One Eastside residential skyscraper due for completion in 2024. This tower will be joined by two more approved residential towers - the 123 metre tower in Glasswater locks and the 111 metre Exchange Square tower. However these two areas are not the only areas of Central Birmingham that will join the central core in significant developments moving into the 2020s. Digbeth will see a number of significant developments including the proposed 151 metre Irish Centre tower, the approved 113 metre Beorma Quarter residential tower as well as smaller developments including the proposed 98 metre Stone Yard tower.

Already home to a number of the city's tallest buildings, the central business district itself will also see a number of new developments in the coming years including the proposed 155 metre Octagon tower at the Paradise redevelopment site. If built the Octagon would become the world's tallest octagonal shaped residential building.

If all future proposals come to fruition, Birmingham will contain well over 125 buildings over 50 metres tall as well as 19 high rises above 100 metres and 5 skyscrapers above 150 metres. At (19), this is the third highest number of high rises over 100 metres in the United Kingdom either built, under construction or proposed after Greater London (over 250) and Greater Manchester (42).

The Westside area of the city is the most prominent location for tall proposals with 5 either built, under construction or proposed, followed by the Central Business District (4) and Eastside (3).

Tallest buildings and structures

This list ranks externally complete Birmingham buildings and free-standing structures that stand more than 50 metres (164 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. Buildings that have been demolished are not included.

Rank	Name	Use	Image	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
1	BT Tower	Telecommunication		152	499		1966	52°29′01″N 1°54′15″W	[2]
2	10 Holloway Circus	Hotel/Residential		122	397	39	2005	52°28′31″N 1°54′01″W	[3]
3	The Bank Tower 2	Residential		102	335	33	2019	52°28′33″N 1°54′50″W	[4]
4	Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower	Clock Tower		100	329		1908	52°26′59″N 1°55′50″W	[5]
5	Alpha Tower	Office		100	328	28	1973	52°28′43″N 1°54′23″W	[6]
6	Orion Building	Residential		90	295	28	2007	52°28′39″N 1°54′08″W	[7]
7	Clydesdale Tower	Residential		90	295	32	1972	52°28′28″N 1°54′05″W	[8]
8	Cleveland Tower	Residential		90	295	32	1971	52°28′28″N 1°54′05″W	[9]
9	Three Snowhill	Office		90	290	18	2019	52°29′05″N 1°53′58″W	[10]
10	The Rotunda	Residential		81	266	23	1965	52°28′42″N 1°53′43″W	[11]
11	Exchange Square 1 Tower 3	Residential		81	266	23	2019	52°28′57″N 1°53′30″W	[12]
12	Aston Place (Arena Central)	Residential		80	262	26	2019	52°28′41″N 1°54′20″W
13	Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant	Chimney		80	262	N/A	1996	52°27′34″N 1°50′36″W	[13]
14	Onyx, Lancaster Circus	Student Accommodation		77	253	24	2020		[14]
15	Centre City Tower	Office		76	249	21	1975	52°28′34″N 1°53′55″W	[15]
16	Five Ways Tower	Office		76	249	22	1979	52°28′17″N 1°54′59″W	[16]
17	Hyatt Regency	Hotel		75	246	24	1990	52°28′41″N 1°54′32″W	[17]
18	Two Snowhill	Office		75	246	15	2013	52°28′41″N 1°54′32″W	[18]
19	1 Snow Hill Plaza	Hotel		72	236	20	1973	52°29′05″N 1°53′54″W	[19]
20	The Cube	Office/Residential/Commercial		70.4	231	23	2010	52°28′30″N 1°54′25″W	[20]
21	Londonderry House	Residential/Car Park		70	230	21		52°28′56″N 1°53′34″W	[21]
22	Colmore Gate	Office		70	230	15	1992	52°28′57″N 1°53′49″W	[22]
23	Quayside Tower	Office		70	230	18	1965	52°28′38″N 1°54′40″W	[23]
24	The McLaren Building	Office		69	226	21	1972	52°28′55″N 1°53′32″W	[24]
25	One Hagley Road	Office		69	226	19	1974	52°28′23″N 1°55′11″W	[25]
26	The Bank Tower 1	Residential		68	223	22	2019		[26]
27	Midland Building	Office		67	220	17	1967	52°28′36″N 1°54′01″W	[27]
28	Bank House	Office		66	217	20	1967	52°28′49″N 1°53′51″W	[28]
29	Brindley House	Mixed		65	213	18	1967	52°29′01″N 1°54′18″W	[29]
30	Fifty4 Hagley Road	Office		64	210	18	1976	52°28′18″N 1°55′27″W	[30]
31	Hampton by Hilton Birmingham Broad Street - Cumberland House	Hotel		64	210	18	1964	52°28′30″N 1°54′50″W	[31]
32	Chamberlain Hall - The Vale	Student Accommodation		64	210	21	2015	52°27′47″N 1°55′21″W	[32]
33	Centenary Plaza	Residential / Hotel		63	207	20	2002	52°28′36″N 1°54′25″W	[33]
34	Queen Elizabeth Hospital	Public Facility		63	207	14	2010	52°27′06″N 1°56′35″W
35	Muirhead Tower	University		62	203	15	1971	52°27′06″N 1°55′46″W	[34]
36	Cobalt Square (Hagley House)	Office		62	203	17	1965	52°28′21″N 1°55′21″W	[35]
37	Holiday Inn Express Birmingham City Centre	Hotel		61	201	18	2017	52°28′39″N 1°54′24″W	[36]
38	St Martin in the Bull Ring	Place of Worship		61	200	N/A	1855	52°28′37″N 1°53′37″W	[37]
39	Trident House	Residential		61	200	19	1981	52°28′31″N 1°54′41″W	[38]
40	Jurys Inn	Hotel		61	200	18	1975	52°28′36″N 1°54′41″W	[39]
41	Library of Birmingham	Library		60	197	10	2013	52°28′47″N 1°54′31″W	[40]
42	James Watt and William Murdoch Residences	Residential		60	197	18	2010	52°29′07″N 1°53′19″W	[41]
43	Mary Sturge and Harriet Martineau Residences	Residential		60	197	18	2013	52°29′05″N 1°53′29″W	[42]
44	University Locks (No.1 Eastside Locks)	Student Accommodation		60	197	17	2016	52°29′00″N 1°52′51″W	[43]
45	Briarley	Residential		59	194	21	1966		[44]
46	Churchill House	Residential		59	194	21	1966		[45]
47	Windsor House	Office		59	194	14			[46]
48	Lloyd House	Office		59	194	13	1964	52°29′02″N 1°53′51″W	[47]
49	Lyndon House	Office		59	194	17			[48]
50	11 Brindleyplace	Office		59	194	13	2008	52°28′36″N 1°54′51″W
51	One Centenary Square	Office		58	190	11	2018	52°28′43″N 1°54′25″W	[49]
52	Park Regis Birmingham (formerly Auchinleck House)	Hotel		58	190	16	1964	52°28′22″N 1°55′01″W	[50]
53	Church of St Peter and St Paul	Place of Worship		58	190	N/A	1480	52°30′25″N 1°52′48″W	[51]
54	Barry Jackson Tower	Residential		58	190	20	1972		[52]
55	Warstone Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[53]
56	One Snowhill	Mixed		57	187	12	2009	52°29′01″N 1°53′54″W	[54]
57	City Centre House	Mixed		57	187	13	1965	52°28′45″N 1°53′45″W	[55]
58	Pritchett Towers	Residential		57	187	20	1971		[56]
59	Hodgson Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1971		[57]
60	Sapphire Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1971		[58]
61	Durham Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1970		[59]
62	Studley Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1969		[60]
63	Victor Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1969		[61]
64	Century Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1968	52°27′22″N 1°54′32″W	[62]
65	Holbrook Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1968		[63]
66	Salisbury Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1968		[64]
67	Brinklow Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[65]
68	Canterbury Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[66]
69	Wickets Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967	52°27′22″N 1°54′26″W	[67]
70	Wilmcote Tower	Residential		57	187	20	1967		[68]
71	Three Brindleyplace	Mixed		55	180	13	1998	52°28′42″N 1°54′48″W	[69]
72	Hive	Residential		54.5	179	15	2011	52°28′54″N 1°53′22″W	[70]
73	The Colmore Building	Office		54	177	14	2008	52°29′01″N 1°53′45″W	[71]
74	Albany House	Mixed		54	177	12	1962		[71]
75	The Lansdowne	Residential		53	172	18	2018	52°28′22″N 1°55′13″W
76	Norfolk Tower	Residential		52	171	18	1971		[72]
77	Eight Brindleyplace	Mixed		52	171	14	2002	52°28′37″N 1°54′48″W	[73]
78	Exchange Square 1 Tower 2	Residential		52	170	16	2019	52°28′56″N 1°53′27″W	[12]
79	Axis	Office		51	167	12		52°28′38″N 1°54′17″W	[74]
80	1 Colmore Row	Office		51	167	12	2004	52°28′58″N 1°53′52″W	[75]

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

Under construction

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
1	The Mercian	Residential	132	433	42		Estimated completion: 2022
2	103 Colmore Row (New tower)	Office	108	354	26		Estimated completion: 2022
2	Exchange Square Phase 2	Residential/Hotel	111	364	36		Estimated completion: 2022
4	Snowhill Wharf	Residential	67	220	21		Estimated completion: 2022
5	3 Arena Central	Office	62	203	18		Estimated completion: 2020
6	St Martins Place	Residential	53	172	17		Estimated completion: 2020

Approved

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
1	100 Broad Street	Residential	193	634	61		Approved in 2020
2	One Eastside	Residential	156	512	51		Approved in 2019
3	Glasswater Locks Tower	Residential	123	403	38		Approved in 2019
1	211 Broad Street (Super Slender Tower)	Apart hotel	117	383	36		Approved in 2020
4	Beorma Quarter	Office	113	371	27		Stalled
5	Lunar Rise	Residential	75	246	25		Approved in 2018
6	Bloc Hotel	Hotel	74	272	22		Approved in 2018
7	Post and Mail	Offices and residential	73	239	17		Approved in 2015[76]
8	Kent Street Baths	Residential	61	200	19		Approved in 2018
9	Bristol Street Apartments	Residential	60	197	18		Approved in 2017

Proposed

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
3	Axis Square Tower 2	Office	100	328	23		Proposed in 2017
4	The Stone Yard	Residential	98	322	30		Proposed in 2019
5	Monaco House Tower 1	Residential	90	295	29		Proposed in 2016
6	193 Camp Hill	Residential	90	295	26		Proposed in 2019
7	Smallbrook Queensway	Office/Residential	88	289	26		Proposed in 2016
8	Connaught Square	Residential	88	289	27		Proposed in 2017
9	Arena Central Plot E1	Residential	86	281	22		Proposed in 2015
10	Monaco House Tower 2	Residential	80	262	26		Proposed in 2016
11	Lancaster/Lawson St Tower	Student accommodation	72	236	22		Proposed in 2018
12	Axis Square Tower 1	Office	70	230	16		Proposed in 2017
13	One Centenary Way	Offices	68	223	13		Proposed in 2016
14	49-51 Holloway Head	Residential	53	173	17		Proposed in 2016
15	St Martin's Place	Residential	53	173	17		Proposed in 2017
16	Residences Edgbaston	Residential	51	167	16		Proposed in 2018

Un-built

This lists proposals for the construction of buildings in Birmingham that were planned to rise at least 100 metres (328 ft), for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.

Rank	Name	Use	Height		Floors	Year	Image	Notes
			metres	feet
1	VTP200	Observation Tower	200	656	10	2010		[77]
2	Arena Central Tower	Office	175	574	50	2007		The Arena Central project was originally masterplanned by HOK International in 1998. The plan called for a landmark 50-storey tower of around 245 metres (805 feet) in height, always intended to be built as one of the latter phases of the scheme. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack and after considering market forces, the developers removed 15-storeys from the planned tower.[78] Superseded by the V Building.[78]
	The Birmingham Pinnacle	Observation Tower	175	574		2008		The Pinnacle was proposed as Europe's first vertical theme park. It would have provided a range of theme park rides, an observation deck, restaurants, shops, bars and leisure facilities. Superseded by VTP200.[79]
4	Bull Ring Tower	Office	160	525	35	1990		Developed by London and Edinburgh Trust and designed by Chapman Taylor were plans that surfaced continuously between 1987 and 1990 for the redevelopment of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre in Birmingham and the demolition of the Rotunda. In the place of the Rotunda was to stand a 160 metre tall office block, a Post Modern design with Art Deco hints of a similar manner to One Liberty Place in Philadelphia. The recession at the start of the 1990s however saw the plans fail to come to fruition and the Rotunda was later listed and restored.[80]
5	V Building	Residential	152	499	51			Proposed in 2006.[81] A new but smaller scheme has been proposed in its place.[82]
6	Post and Mail Scheme (Tower 1 Scheme C)	Office	150	492	35	2010		[83]
7	Rough Diamond Hotel Tower	Hotel	120	394				[84]
	Rough Diamond Office Tower	Office	120	394				[85]
	Rough Diamond Residential Tower	Residential	120	394				[86]
10	No 1 Snow Hill Plaza	Office	118	387	29	2011		1 Snow Hill Plaza was to be constructed on the site of the Kennedy Tower, however these proposals were dropped following the collapse of the developer, Kenmore. The building that stands on the site has now been renovated and turned into a new Holiday Inn Express indicating that the proposal for a new office building is permanently dead.[87]

Demolished

This lists buildings and structures in Birmingham that were demolished or are undergoing demolition and at one time stood at least 50 metres (164 ft) in height.

Rank	Name	Use	Completed	Demolished	Height		Floors	Image	Notes
					metres	feet
1	103 Colmore Row	Office	1976	2017	80	262	23		Building demolished during 2016-2017 [88]
2	Birmingham Post and Mail HQ	Office	1964	2005	67	222	16		The building was designed by John Madin and was one of his key modernist buildings. It was demolished in the 2005 to make way for Colmore Plaza, which stands at 54 metres (177 ft).
3	Stephenson Tower	Residential	1967	2011	63	207	20		Demolished in the summer of 2011 as part of site clearance for the redeveloped New Street railway station[89][90]
4	Wheel of Birmingham	Ferris Wheel	2004	2006	62	203			[91] The wheel normally comes back every Christmas season between November and January, along with an ice rink [92]
5	Dalton Tower	Residential	1971	2011	61	200	21		Demolished on 8 May 2011 as part of phase II of the Aston University student village development.[93][94]
6	Lawrence Tower	Residential	1971	2011	59	194	21		Demolished on 8 May 2011 as part of phase II of the Aston University student village development.[93][95]
7	Clyde Tower	Residential		1967	2006	59	194	20	Demolished 5 February 2006[96]
8	Stafford Tower	Residential	1971	2014	58	190	21		Demolished on 27 April 2014 as part of phase II of the Aston University student village development.[97]
9=	Cornwall Tower	Residential	1970	2014	52	171	18		Demolished 26 October 2014[98]
9=	Normansell Tower	Residential	1972	2012	52	171	18		Demolished 2 September 2012

Timeline of tallest buildings and structures

The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower was the tallest structure in Birmingham from 1908 until 1969

This lists free-standing structures that once held the title of tallest structure in Birmingham.

Name	Location	Years as tallest	Height metres / ft	Floors	Reference
St Philip's Cathedral	Colmore Row	1725–1777 (52 years)	01.040 / 131	03.0N/A	[99]
Church of SS Peter and Paul	Aston	1777–1855 (78 years)	02.057.9 / 190	04.0N/A	[100]
St Martin in the Bull Ring	The Bull Ring	1855–1908 (53 years)	02.061 / 200	04.0N/A	[101]
Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower	University of Birmingham	1908–1966 (58 years)	02.0100 / 329	04.0N/A	[102]
BT Tower	Jewellery Quarter	1966 – present	02.0152 / 498	04.0N/A	[103]