Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) has secured planning permission to deliver a 175-room lifestyle hotel and 80-unit aparthotel in the Digbeth district of Birmingham on behalf of Uddingston Holdings & Lethia Holdings.
The scheme will redevelop the Smithfield House and Wolverley House office buildings on Digbeth High Street on the eastern edge of the Birmingham Smithfield Masterplan (BSM).
DMA's design consists of two distinct buildings that re-interpret the area's traditional architecture: Smithfield House will deliver an aparthotel, with a mix of studios and one-bed units, with an independent café on the ground floor, as well as a guest amenity area and terrace at the rooftop. Meanwhile, Wolverley House will deliver a lifestyle hotel with ancillary F&B and workspace on the ground floor and a rooftop bar and view terrace set to become a destination for both locals and guests.
Each block has been designed to reference Digbeth's vernacular architecture in its own way with an overall material palette of red brick and stone.
To activate the streets and provide more interaction with the pedestrians, the ground floor has been planned to maximise its street presence with public uses. The design will also create significant public realm benefits through the enhancement of Digbeth and Moat Lane and the creation of a pocket park in Upper Mill Lane.
An ecological roof system will be installed on both buildings. This combined green and blue roof system provides both water attenuation and a natural habitat for the local ecology, in which vegetation will establish and provide a home for smaller elements of wildlife.