Paradise crowned AJ Masterplan of the Year

Paradise has been named Masterplanning project of the year at the AJ Architecture Awards 2022. Working with developers MEPC, our masterplan is the major reworking of a complex urban site in Birmingham’s civic core. By reconnecting existing public squares with a new pedestrianised route, it delivers on Birmingham’s ambition to be a car free, walkable and cyclable city.

A new business, residential and leisure quarter, the project compliments the adjacent Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings and has helped to attract new global businesses into the city. Judges praised the “high-quality transformation” of the public realm and commented how the scheme “worked hard with the change of levels, linking two important areas of Birmingham together” while “introducing a new permeability.” Another said, “It manages a lot of moving parts well—to be congratulated, given there’s not the same level of control possible as in a building,” and it was “the connecting-up that Birmingham needed.”

Partner Dav Bansal, who led the design commented: “We’ve worked closely with an ambitious client in MEPC to deliver an integral part of Birmingham’s transformation from motor city to a walkable and cyclable destination. It’s a real privilege for the scheme to be recognised as AJ Masterplan of the Year and the vision for this major reworking of a complex site in Birmingham’s historic and civic core has only just begun. This is a truly exciting journey for the city.”