The William explores what it means to retain history while adapting a building in advanced decay into a restaurant-anchored, mixed-use development with small multifamily units on a challenging mid-block urban site. A late-19th-century building in Birmingham’s city center, it began with a collapsed roof, partial upper-floor cave-ins, and a party wall left exposed by the loss of its neighbor — three conditions that shaped the design solution.
The mid-block site posed constructability and visibility challenges, and with nine apartment units per floor above a ground-floor restaurant, daylighting the narrow, deep lot became the central design problem. It drove an early decision to pursue a second frontage along the adjacent alley — rehabilitated in partnership with neighboring property owners — giving the lobby pub a discovered-but-not-concealed rear entry and turning a service edge into a shared civic asset.
The building is organized as a single-loaded corridor wrapping a top-lit atrium carved along the party wall, daylighting three residential floors above. The atrium’s primary surface is the party wall itself; continuous linear fixtures mark the lost floor plates, and swing-arm pendants form a constellation that delineates the ground-floor lobby from the mezzanine and bar below.
Historic materials become major design features. Cast iron and formed metal façade elements are preserved and restored. Brick corridor walls reveal rare painted “ghost signage” from a long-demolished neighbor — a found artifact turned feature. Salvaged floor and roof framing returns as flooring and millwork throughout the pub.
