The transformation of Birmingham’s former Royal Mail Sorting Office and the surrounding canal side area has provided 1.5 million sq ft of new facilities.

The existing Victorian warehouse and office buildings were in poor condition. The brickwork particularly was damaged beyond repair to the canal elevation.

The existing timber roof trusses have been lifted off insitu, cleaned, and repositioned following partial demolition of the buildings. the front elevation has been rebuilt and the ground floor area reduced in level by 1.2m to accommodate the required floor to floor heights; and within the first floor office and marketing space a mezzanine deck has been introduced to provide additional office space. These design features, coupled with the exposed natural brick and timber finishes with large windows overlooking the canal, has produced an excellent and interesting office space.

The existing steel framed building with precast composite floor construction has a total area of 830,000 sq ft. A new street was carved up the long axis of the building with new construction at the side, on the roof and within the existing 6.1m floor to floor height.

Following the initial transformation of The Mailbox, Curtins has been involved with the following projects:

• Malmaison Hotel

• Days Inn Hotel

• Bridge & Access Node

• Fish! Restaurant

• Washington Wharf

• The Mailbox Management Offices

The development also involved Curtins carrying out the fit out of various units, including:

• Telewest
• Cable & Wireless
• Red Peppers
• Railtrack
• Quinns Bar
• Paris Restaurant
• Bar Estilo

This building has won several awards namely The Commission of High Quality Architecture CABE 2003 award and The British Council for Offices – Refurbished Workplace 2003 award.