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News Release from: Urban Splash | Subject: Fort Dunlop
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 March 2006
Urban Splash Fort Dunlop in lights
Hollywood has come to Birmingham with the switch on of a 'Hollywood style' gigantic letter sign, installed to mark the rebirth of Fort Dunlop.
Hollywood has come to Birmingham with the switch on of a 'Hollywood style' gigantic letter sign, installed to mark the rebirth of Fort Dunlop as an inspirational commercial space With the phased opening of the reinvented landmark just around the corner, the massive new illuminated rooftop sign, which spells out F O R T D U N L O P, will create a new beacon for the City to the thousands of motorists that pass by every day
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 17 Feb 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Tying in with the Oscars, Suzie Ralph, Director of FILM Birmingham, flicked the ceremonial switch, together with Clive Dutton of Birmingham City Council and Stuart Kirkwood of Advantage West Midlands.
Redefined by award-winning property developer, Urban Splash, as a high profile and high performance commercial space, the former tyre factory will have a phased opening starting in Spring and culminating in a grand opening late in 2006.
In preparation, a state-of-the art illuminated sign has been installed, comprising huge, 3D acrylic faced letters each standing over 2.5 metres high.
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New inner glass skin for Urban Splash Fort Dunlop
The reinvented Fort Dunlop has 'shed' its windows in favour of an innovative inner glass skin, creating the effect of a crystal cube within the 90 year-old Birmingham landmark.
Commercial space in Fort Dunlop development
Hot on the heels of its first office tenant announcement, Urban Splash, the award-winning developer behind Fort Dunlop, has announced a prestigious retail hat trick for the iconic building.
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Fort Dunlop is £40m renovation of former tyre factory by developer Urban Splash has the largest grass roof in UK onto which a herd of Fresian cows has been installed.
Supported on specially fabricated galvanized steel columns, the letters run along the top of the Travelodge extension to the building.
Spanning a total of 45 metres in length, the sign will be clearly visible to the millions of motorists using the M6 and will instantly become an iconic landmark on the Birmingham landscape.
Guy Jackson is West Midlands Director of Urban Splash, "We're incredibly proud of the reinvented Fort Dunlop".
"The development timetable is on track, and with space from just £10 per square foot, interest has been understandably high".
"The lights switch on is a great indication that very soon, Fort Dunlop will be open for business." Fort Dunlop's architectural practice, shedkm, had decided upon the concept of roofline lettering for Fort Dunlop very early on in the design.
Throughout its history, the building has always boldly displayed the Dunlop name, in the 1920s as lettering to the brickwork elevations and later as a sign-written display across its many pitched roofs.
Hazel Rounding, of shedkm, is lead architect on the project, "Part of the signage rationale was to provide not just a visual balance, but also a connection between the existing tower structure at the far end of the building and the length of the new build hotel." Simon Stokes is the Business Development Manager for Ace Signs Group, the Warwick-based company supplying the signage, "There to bring light and a sense of location to the immediate surrounds, the letters will normally be lit using white lighting".
"They also have the capacity to be illuminated with colour, drawing from a palette of millions of different shades".
"This will be used to support brand or tenant launches, as well as to potentially mark national days such as St George's Day, with of course, red and white!" The sign not only radiates practically any colour in the visible spectrum, it also claims impressive green credentials.
The illumination system is not based on conventional neon tubes or fluorescent lamps; the sign is actually lit by thousands of small, red, blue or green light emitting diodes.
Simon Stokes adds, "Quite aside from the spectacular lighting effects this creates, a big saving in energy consumption is also delivered, using only about 30% of the energy used by conventional illumination".
"Clearly the massive installation is more than just a sign, it's a landmark, a powerful endorsement of ecological responsibility and a technical masterpiece." Supplied by ASG, the signage system has been installed by the property developer's construction arm, Urban Splash Build.
At well over an acre per floor, Fort Dunlop offers the largest floor plates available outside of the M25.
Occupiers will be able to enjoy the UK's largest living grass roof, whilst guests can relax in the retail and leisure on offer and rest their head at night in the new 100-bedroom hotel that also makes a striking architectural statement.
Tenants of Fort Dunlop will enjoy a key location that is the gateway to Birmingham.
The lights switch on builds upon growing interest in Fort Dunlop, which was kicked off with a preview event in November, which was attended by a record breaking 500 business people.
An increasing amount of space is already under offer.
The first tenant announcements are expected soon.
More details on Fort Dunlop can be found at www.fortdunlop.com.
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