‘More Birmingham , less anywhere’ – Why Octagon may prove ahead of its time

The city’s landmark tower is more than a striking addition to the skyline. Its unique design has delivered efficiencies in construction, materials and carbon capture that could offer lessons for the next generation of tall buildings.

Stood in a pristine Chamberlain Square at 8am on a given Tuesday, Paradise’s signature residential tower climbs into the clouds above the city like it’s been there a long time – something of an achievement, given that this time last year you’d have been looking at mostly empty sky.

From across Birmingham, it is difficult to miss The Octagon.

The sense of permanence the building generates is certainly due in part to its scale, but owes a little bit to what could be described as the “Brummie accent” running through the Octagonal structure, which invites comparisons with the city’s landmark building of earlier cylindrical eras, the Rotunda.

The Octagon sits on a corner plot at the northern edge of the £1.2bn Paradise development. Credit: ©Hufton+Crow

Claimed as the first eight-sided high-rise residential tower in the world, the Octagon is unquestionably a landmark. The city arguably needs more of them.

Completed last year, the 49-storey building is tentatively hanging on to its title as the tallest building in Birmingham, after One Eastside topped out earlier this year at the same height.

It is also the centrepiece of a changing part of the city centre, sitting at the northern edge of the £1.2bn Paradise development.

Across town, the famous 1960s Rotunda feels a little old hat now, but there’s every chance that history will be kinder to the Octagon, which could prove to be an efficient piece of design engineering for others to follow.

More with less

Born from the shape of a constrained plot on the edge of the Paradise regeneration, the building’s unique outline has led to positive consequences for its engineering, as well as its carbon footprint.

As part of a philosophy of doing more with less, the building shaves off around 1,000 sq m of facade compared to a squared off design, some 15%, while large parts of the building were manufactured off site, including its façade, bathroom pods and utility cupboards.

Precast concrete components were produced in the Midlands to reduce transport distances, and due to efficiencies made during the design process, the embodied carbon in the building was forecast to be well below the benchmark level for residential developments at that time.

Midgard, part of the JRL Group, was the main contractor on the Octagon scheme. Credit: Core

The wind shear acting on an Octagonal structure generates significantly less force than it would on a blockier aspect, meaning its design can reduce material consumption further still.

“What I want to get across is how much thought has gone into this building,” says Howells practice partner, Dav Bansal.

“The site presented a very unique challenge, and we took that challenge and turned it into an opportunity.

“We are incredibly proud of the meticulous work we have put into this building and every innovation that has gone into delivering it.”

A ‘lighthouse’ for the city

For the city, Bansal says the building brings people further into the city centre, while a “democratic” design offers the city an equal view of all of its eight faces, an impressive view for residents of Ladywood as it is from Colmore Row.

Shadows moving across the angular aluminium facade subtly shift the tone and colour of the building from minute to minute.

“Everybody gets the same view of it and some people are lucky enough to live in it. Sitting on the ridge means that it’s not just one of the tallest but the highest building in the city,” adds Bansal.

“It was a leap of faith from the client [MEPC/Federated Hermes] and their development manager Andy Bushell, because they could easily have said ‘well, no-one’s done it before, let’s look at the excel sheet and see what works’.

“It was their belief, and ambition that made The Octagon become a reality.

“But the perspective was always that we need to do something really unique here. There’s a lot of build-to-rent coming on to the market and it needed to be special in many ways.”

An internal view of one of the Octagon’s 370 apartments. Credit: ©Hufton+Crow

Internally, the compact eight-sided layout, coupled with a squared off core, makes for an entirely less sprawling layout on each floor, with residents offered a more intimate communal landing.

Clever layouts in each apartment mean awkward angles and dead spaces are virtually non-existent, despite the non-linear-shaped floor plans.

There’s no doubt Howells has created a statement building, but given the claimed efficiencies of the design, is the future of tall buildings going to look a bit more octagonal?

“Perhaps,” adds Bansal, referencing a couple of applications he’s already spotted in Manchester and London.

“But the first one will always be here in Birmingham.”

The Octagon has been shortlisted for the 2026 World Architecture Festival Awards, due to take place at Fort Lauderdale in November.