Co-living scheme would be one of UK’s narrowest residential buildings at just 8.5 metres wide

The Narrowhouse - view 1

The tower would be clad in around 4,000sq m of PV panels

The Narrowhouse - view 2

View of the proposed podium along the canalside

Broadway Malyan has redesigned its plans for a co-living tower in Birmingham which would be almost entirely covered in photovoltaic panels.

Birmingham-based developer GNM Developments said the 29-storey scheme at 52 Gas Street is aspiring to be the world’s tallest energy positive building.

Called the Narrowhouse, it would also be just 8.5 metres wide, making it one of the UK’s slimmest residential buildings.

The plans replace a similarly narrow but shorter 15-storey building containing 161 homes, also designed by Broadway Malyan, which was submitted for planning last year.

Changes to the design include shortening the height of an adjoining podium block from nine to six storeys and the addition of a glass box on the podium’s top level containing communal facilities for residents and access to roof terraces overlooking the neighbouring canal.

Gather and Soul scheme

Broadway Malyan’s previous proposals featured a taller podium but shorter main tower

A spokesperson for GNM Developments said the firm had sought to reduce the massing of the building while increasing the height of its main component.

Like the new proposals, the previous scheme would also have featured Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) on its facade with aims to become an energy positive building, feeding excess energy back into the local grid.

The scheme will also include swift boxes incorporated into its facade and a dedicated space for beekeeping on the roof to encourage pollination of local plants.

Broadway Malyan principal Hugo Fitzgerald said: “The Narrowhouse is a pioneering proposal which we hope will set a new benchmark, both in terms of energy-positive and super slim building design.

The Narrowhouse - view 2

View of the proposed podium along the canalside

“The proposals ground the development in its history, taking design prompts from wharf building typology and creating an attractive vibrant frontage along an underused part of the city’s extensive canal network.”

The project team, which has been retained during the redesign, includes heritage consultant Donald Insall Associates, planning consultant CBRE, structural and civil engineer HSP, landscape architect Bea and MEP engineer Syntegral.

If approved, construction of the scheme is expected to start in the last quarter of next year and complete in 2028.

Topics