Ample landscaped space for workers and visitors.
One of the Tea Factory's atrium corridors pre-fit-out. Image courtesy of BAM.
The renewed facade on Bordesley Street.
Fazeley Street's new creative and mixed-use neighbourhood.
How retrofit is shaping Digbeth’s next chapter
Cities don’t reinvent themselves overnight. They evolve through layers of history, as each generation finds new purpose in the places that came before.
At Howells, we believe some of the greatest opportunities lie in unlocking the potential of what already exists. That belief has shaped our work for more than three decades.
One of our earliest projects, The Custard Factory helped establish Digbeth as Birmingham’s creative quarter. One of our most recent, the EH Smith Design Centre, created a home for a new kind of industry. Cornerblock demonstrated how an unfashionable commercial building could become a desirable workplace once again.
And recently announced, our work with Digbeth Loc. Studios and Homes England will unlock a new Fazeley Street mixed-use neighbourhood by reinvigorating heritage assets.
Typhoo Wharf is the next chapter in that story.
Working with Stoford, we developed the masterplan and led the design for the transformation of the former Typhoo Tea Factory. Rather than replacing one of Birmingham’s most significant industrial buildings, the project carefully adapts it for a new generation of occupiers.
From the early demolition works to the structural completion, the transformation reveals how thoughtful retrofit can preserve heritage, retain embodied carbon and create inspiring new workplaces.
An internal street follows the route of a former canal inlet into the heart of the complex. A new saw-tooth roof echoes the original architecture and brings consistent, glare-free north light into the space. Fluid, multi-purpose circulation is central to our design. High-level internal bridges and generous, intuitive routes create places for informal meetings, agile working and social interaction.
The BBC’s move to Digbeth has become a defining moment in the area’s evolution, helping establish the district as one of the UK's leading destinations for creative industries. But successful creative neighbourhoods aren't built around a single occupier. They depend on a network of workplaces, public spaces and businesses that together create an ecosystem where ideas and enterprise can thrive.
The Typhoo Wharf masterplan is helping to build that ecosystem. As the next phase of Digbeth’s regeneration gathers pace, the ambition for the wider Typhoo campus is already emerging. Through our work across the district, we see enormous potential for a connected neighbourhood where historic industry provides the foundations for future creativity.
Written on 01.10.2026, by Sandeep Shambi
