Assay Office

The new home for Assay Office Birmingham is an exciting stage in the Assay Office’s history and in the continued regeneration of the Jewellery Quarter. The Assay Office is one of Birmingham’s oldest bodies. It has a duty to hallmark precious metals such as jewellery and silverware. It was founded in 1773 and has been located in the c Birmingham for 135 years. The Assay Office employs some 150 members of staff and has hallmarked over 100 million articles since 2000.

The environmentally friendly design has been built to BREEAM ‘Very Good’ standard and includes prominent facades culminating in a double height entrance that addresses the neighbouring Kettleworks opposite.

The use of high quality brickwork and detailing with full height glazing offers a unique and modern concept in this very traditional part of Birmingham. The Traditional Staffordshire Blue Brick was used to reflect the heritage of the Conservation Area whilst moving the building designs into the 21st century.

EH Smith Assisted Glazzard architects at the planning stage to choose the correct product to accomplish the architects concept for this iconic start to the Kettleworks redevelopment in Birmingham. The Staffordshire Smooth Blue is made less than 20 miles from the site which also helped with the BREAM rating for the building.