Dan Smyth

Principal, architecture, head of Birmingham studio Birmingham

T: +44 [0]121 212 3553
E: dan.smyth@bdp.com

Dan is a principal and head of the Birmingham Studio which he founded in 2004.

Dan has a particular interest in the regeneration of Birmingham and the many major projects currently transforming a city he considers wonderfully self-effacing. The city is on the verge of a boom with many more new occupiers and investors than for several decades, and he compares what is now possible with that achieved in Birmingham’s Victorian heydays.

He specialises in complex projects and has been architect/masterplanner for many transformation commissions with a range of ‘blue chip’ clients with designs recognised through prestigious awards. Following investment cycles in the last 30 years, his experience crosses a range of sectors including retail, leisure/hotel, offices, process, healthcare, education and residential while having also delivered conservation projects in historic environments. This range of experience brings a strong insight and skill set in the creation and activation of contemporary places.

His most famous local project is Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth ‘Super Hospital’ where he took the project through the Planning process and led the site office in the early years of construction.

What will architectural practices be like in the future?

“The power of building information modelling and virtual reality is already incredible and a huge leap from drawing with Rotring pens back in the 1980s. I predict the next leap being computers ‘learning’ from our huge database of completed buildings to continually improve and fine tune the product to new design challenges… and that I will still be designing on my drawing board in 2B pencil!”

Projects

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Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

Hospital sets new teaching and healing standards. We developed an ‘ideal hospital’ concept through intensive consultation with patients, visitors, staff and the trust’s clinical review groups.

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New Covent Garden Market

The market proposals will provide modern facilities consolidated on one site for the 200 tenant businesses, which employ over 2,500 people.

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Vasco de Gama Centre

Lisbon’s mixed-use beacon shines bright. We were inspired by the city’s Expo ’98 theme — ‘the oceans’ — which influenced everything from sail-form tower profiles to shopping centre detailing.

Universities in Libya

Ten new universities open Libya up to the West. Eighteen faculty types — covering all Engineering, Humanities and Health Sciences sectors — will accommodate 38,000 students and there will be 15,000 student residential and 600 staff units.

New Cathedral Street

Retail-led mixed use development in central Manchester.

Marks and Spencer – Liffey Valley

Liffey Valley Shopping Centre at Quarryvale, Dublin opened in October 1998.

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Cathedral Gardens, Manchester

New green heart for the city. We designed a series of themed lawns, trees, water features, artworks and hard landscape areas in the heart of Manchester’s Millennium Quarter.

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News

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New home for Birmingham studio

19/09/2014

As of Monday 22 September BDP’s Birmingham studio will be located at: 158 Edmund Street, Birmingham B3 2HB

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Planning granted for New Covent Garden Market

13/11/2014

Resolution received to grant planning permission to deliver the landmark redevelopment of the 57 acre New Covent Garden Market site in Nine Elms, London.

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Pebble Mill Life Sciences Building goes in for planning

15/04/2019

Birmingham studio has submitted a planning application for a life sciences building at Plot 4 Pebble Mill, the former home of the BBC Midlands TV studios.

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