103 colmore row is a 108-metre tall, 26-storey commercial office skyscraper located on colmore row, birmingham, england.completed in 2021, this building replaced the former natwest tower designed by john madin and completed in 1975.in 2008, a plan by then owners british land to demolish natwest tower and replace it with a taller modern equivalent was approved.this plan never progressed and in 2015 the building passed to the developer sterling property ventures, who successfully applied to have the building demolished.construction of the new tower began in june 2019 and completed in 2021.103 colmore row is the tallest office building in the united kingdom outside london to be constructed since the completion of alpha tower, also in birmingham, in 1973.designed by john madin, it is of the brutalist style, contrasting the traditional victorian architectural styles in the immediate area.although, the pre-cast concrete panels on the exterior, which were common on commercial buildings of the time, rather than in-situ concrete did make the building differ from classic brutalism.designs for the building were first publicised in 1964 and it was remarked that it had drawn inspiration from the university of pittsburgh by louis kahn.the designs showed a two-storey banking hall with a rectangular tower with horizontal ribbon windows.it also showed a service tower facing on to newhall street.this design differed significantly to the one that was approved by birmingham city council.the scheme also included a five-storey office block to the west of the site that was separated from it by an l-shaped courtyard.this office block was later reclad and increased to eight storeys in 1996-7 so that it reads as a separate building.the entire scheme was named the 'colmore centre'.the first phase of the scheme, which consisted of the construction of the banking hall, was completed in 1969.construction of the tower began in 1973 and was completed three years later at a total cost of £3.5 million.the building was constructed so that it was not solely occupied by the national westminster bank, but could also be let to tenants so that the bank could maximise the profitability of the site.however, the building proved difficult to let and was never fully occupied; the only major corporation to take office space in the tower was eversheds.the building has been vacant since 2003.there were numerous interesting features, including the original aluminium-cast banking hall doors, created and made by henry haig (1930 – 6 december 2007), who was an english abstract artist, painter and sculptor but notable predominantly for his stained glass work, which consisted of an abstract triangle design based on the natwest logo and were painted to resemble bronze.the banking hall itself had a coffered ceiling of plasterboard covered in gold leaf and travertine marble floors and skirtings.the exterior was covered in abstract plaster murals and bronze matt ceramic tiles.the lift shaft and two ventilation towers were constructed using brick.the structure was constructed of precast concrete with waffle concrete floor slabs.there were four plant floors at the top of the tower and 100 car park spaces in a basement car park that became disused upon the discovery of asbestos.the office block was accessed via a stainless steel surround doorway on newhall street, where the land began to drop, exposing the ventilation grills for the basement.the entrance here appeared to be of a later date to the rest of the building.the office block had a service core at the centre of each floor, consisting of a large service duct, lavatories, four lift shafts and staircase.
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