London might have The Gherkin but Birmingham could soon have The Onion

AUDACIOUS plans to create an office building in central Birmingham in the shape of an onion are being drawn up by an Indian property investment firm.

In a clear attempt to ape the international success of London’s Gherkin building, Mumbai-based Gunda Property Investments has commissioned unnamed architects to design the building and has commissioned London property consultancy Topper Charles to seek suitable sites.

It is thought to favour the Digbeth/Eastside area so that The Onion could form a prominent part of the Birmingham skyline when approached by train from London.

Although only at the planning stage, Gunda is convinced that its proposal has legs.

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com’s Asia correspondent Shambak Muli, Gunda’s marketing manager Pri Folloa said: “Everybody laughed when The Gherkin was first discussed but now it has become an iconic building on the London skyline.

“In many ways building design has become too conservative and we want to create something that will be discussed and debated not just in Birmingham but around the world.

“The shape of quite a few vegetables could lend themselves to office blocks in the future. Why not The Aubergine or The Cucumber?”

Folloa said a site around Digbeth would also see The Onion acting as a lasting tribute to the wholesale vegetable market which will be moving to make way for the city’s planned Smithfield mixed-use scheme.

She admits that there is likely to be some opposition to the scheme but is confident it will proceed.

“Just remember the date when you first heard about it,” she said.