Sphere’s One Eastside handover to PIC: design and sustainability notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Sphere has completed and handed over One Eastside, a 51-storey build-to-rent tower and Birmingham’s tallest skyscraper, to Pension Insurance Corporation, delivering 667 rental apartments plus co-working and amenity space on a remediated brownfield site. Construction used £15.7m of locally sourced materials, created 87 local jobs and 11 apprenticeships, with 61% of labour drawn from the surrounding area. The scheme incorporates new green space, on-site renewable energy infrastructure and the planting of 620 trees under the One Eastside Forest initiative to offset resident move-in emissions.
Technical Brief
- Brownfield plot previously housed a chemical engineering and advanced chemistry teaching facility for Birmingham Metropolitan College.
- Annual economic value from the scheme is reported at £33.5m, supporting the local urban economy.
- Local supply chain engagement included £15.7m spend on locally sourced construction materials.
- Workforce strategy created 87 local jobs and 11 apprenticeships, with 61% of labour sourced nearby.
- Environmental measures extend beyond on-plot green space to a 620-tree “One Eastside Forest” planting initiative.
- Renewable energy infrastructure is integrated on site, reducing operational grid demand for a high-rise residential load profile.
- Model demonstrates how tall build-to-rent towers can be used as anchors for local skills and supply-chain development.
Our Take
Within our 920 Infrastructure stories, very few UK schemes combine this scale of residential tower with quantified social value metrics like 61% local labour and 11 apprenticeships, signalling that One Eastside is being positioned as a benchmark for ‘measured’ community benefit in high‑rise delivery.
Planting 620 trees under the One Eastside Forest initiative goes beyond typical Section 106‑style greening in our UK coverage and indicates that large private residential towers are starting to mirror institutional ESG frameworks, which may influence future investor requirements on similar schemes.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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