Birmingham Dale House Development 2

Dale House was a development built during the mid 1970's to replace a war damaged area of Birmingham. The development featured a multi storey car park at its core with retail at street level, an office block mounted on the roof and another office tower on the side. This series of posts is a photo record of the unique structure which I took in a series of three visits in 2018. Originally scheduled for demolition in 2007, the building should already have been demolished but financial crises and Covid since then have extended its life as a car park until at least 2024, according to Google Street View. As I no longer live nearby I am actually not sure if it is now gone or not.

I have a fascination with multi storey car parks, as a particular feature only seen since the invention of the car. Post war society envisaged a Brave New World brought to us by cheap motoring and easy efficient mobility, like no humans had ever known. Increasingly our cities are either outlawing or deterring cars from entering the congested urban centres. Many of these structures are already gone and many more will follow. Whenever I visit a city by car I always aim for a multi storey as the architecture and design and the way they are mapped out intrigue me. What other buildings can you drive around inside?

The first set shows the exterior (here) and gives a sense of its relationship to the rest of the landscape. This set focuses on its seventies, stylistically Brutalist design, and its photogenic aspects. Other sets will show the interior, the complex roof area, and the accompanying office buildings.

True Brutalism shows the essential exposed concrete while this structure is softened by an extensive brick exterior with some bare concrete left as an accent.

Part 1 is here.