Paradise has been named Masterplanning project of the year at the AJ Architecture Awards 2022. Working with developers MEPC, our masterplan is the major reworking of a complex urban site in Birmingham’s civic core. By reconnecting existing public squares with a new pedestrianised route, it delivers on Birmingham’s ambition to be a car free, walkable and cyclable city.
A new business, residential and leisure quarter, the project compliments the adjacent Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings and has helped to attract new global businesses into the city. Judges praised the “high-quality transformation” of the public realm and commented how the scheme “worked hard with the change of levels, linking two important areas of Birmingham together” while “introducing a new permeability.” Another said, “It manages a lot of moving parts well—to be congratulated, given there’s not the same level of control possible as in a building,” and it was “the connecting-up that Birmingham needed.”
Partner Dav Bansal, who led the design commented: “We’ve worked closely with an ambitious client in MEPC to deliver an integral part of Birmingham’s transformation from motor city to a walkable and cyclable destination. It’s a real privilege for the scheme to be recognised as AJ Masterplan of the Year and the vision for this major reworking of a complex site in Birmingham’s historic and civic core has only just begun. This is a truly exciting journey for the city.”