The Cube project located south-west of the city centre in Birmingham was completed in 2010 by MAKE architects.  The ‘perfect’ cube houses a mixture of vertically stacked uses (e.g. retail, housing, office, hotel and parking) building off the success of the rejuvenated canal environment; it reinforces the area as a destination and establishes a strong visual presence with an anodised aluminium cladding creating a clear identity and symbolising the strong manufacturing tradition of Birmingham.

Adaptability was driven from the beginning by the client brief building off the success of its neighbouring mixed-use predecessor the Mailbox.  The uses are stacked vertically with some transitional floors being able to be used as either use (e.g. level 8 can be either office or A1/A3).  On the other hand, each group of floor plates has been tailored to a certain extent to its intended use offering varying floor to floor heights, floor loadings, fire strategies, lift and service strategies.  The central courtyard forms a dynamic shared space that links all the uses and permits a diagonal pedestrian route to slice through the building enhancing the connectivity of the surrounding area linking the street to the towpath, footbridge and the Mailbox.  The versatile and convertible design allows for several spaces to be shared, divided or joined depending on user demands.