| Architect |
Peter Hing &
Jones |
| Date Built |
1988 - 1991 |
| Location |
Colmore
Circus |
| Description |
|
| The involvement of the Wesleyan
Church in Birmingham in the assurance
business stretches back to 1841 when the
church founded the society
to help people overcome the financial
problems brought on by the first
industrial revolution. In 1866 an
Act of Parliament was obtained to make it
possible for the society to become a
national rather than local
organisation. This also involved a
change of name to the
The Wesleyan & General Assurance
Society. It was in the Society's
150th anniversary year that they moved
into this, their new building, on Colmore
Circus. As you can see from the
image above, the building is also home to
Pinsent Masons an international corporate
law firm. This large cruciform building occupies the island in the centre of Colmore Circus. It is clad in artificial pink granite which the Pevsner Guide for Birmingham says is, "angled between floors, like the legs of a huge insect." At the centre of the cross, at the top of the building, perches a double pyramid displaying the name "Wesleyan". According to an article in the Midlans Business News, published on July 21, 2011, "Intelligent lift technology has trebled the energy efficiency of Birmingham's iconic Wesleyan Assurance Society Building and reduced its annual carbon emissions. Lift and escalator specialist KONE has introduced state of the art Destination Control technology in place of the traditional hoisting system. The new gearless motor system not only saves 36 per cent of the energy the previous mechanism required, it also generates energy which can be used elsewhere in the building. The result has been a significant reduction in the building's overall energy consumption. " |
|
| Wesleyan and General Assurance Building Colmore Circus, Birmingham, UK  |
