UPDATE: Please take the time to read our announcement. Ristorante Café Arena is open as normal.

Renovating the Roundhouse by James Reader

Film maker James Reader (and his drones) made three visits to the Roundhouse between 2019 and 2021.

The first visit was before the start of our renovation programme in January 2019. The second, in June 2019, saw the building programme in full swing. Both of these recording sessions are included in the first video below.

His final visit was in July 2021, showing a very, and mostly complete Roundhouse. This is shown in the second video.

A Team Effort

Literally hundreds of people have been involved in reviving the Roundhouse; from apprentices working on the restoration of the fabric of the building, to people taking part in the creation of our visitor programme. Here’s a small selection of images that document the work that has been done to bring the Roundhouse to life.

Awards

Roundhouse Birmingham’s project, cultural programmes, and visitor offer have been nominated for a range of awards since 2018. You can find out more here.

Update

The ‘Roundhouse Birmingham’ charity was set up in 2016 to care for the historic Grade II* listed Roundhouse building. Nine years on and the restored building is now used as office space and is home to a much-loved Italian restaurant.

Since 2021, the Roundhouse has also been a base for guided walks, kayak tours, boat trips and other activities. Whilst these have been well received, rising external costs mean this element of Roundhouse Birmingham is no longer providing the sustainable income we need to fund the ongoing care of this historic building. For this reason, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the leisure activity offer and visitor centre.

The office spaces will remain open as usual. Visitors can still access the site (see www.arenaltd.co.uk for opening hours) and Ristorante Caffe Arena will continue to welcome visitors.

We’re hugely proud of what the Roundhouse Birmingham team has achieved, and we’d also like to thank all of our visitors for their support. The trustees of Roundhouse Birmingham remain fully committed to caring for this important part of Birmingham’s heritage.

If you’ve already booked a tour, you’ll be contacted via email and the cost of your booking will be refunded. We apologise for any inconvenience.   

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