Pictured: Nigel Moss, chairman of the college corporation;
Prof Ray Linforth, principal of UCB; with Dave Carter and Derek
Urquhart from Shepherd Construction
The demolition of derelict buildings in Birmingham's historic
Jewellery Quarter is well underway as a site is cleared for
building work to begin on the first phase of University College
Birmingham's (UCB) new campus.
The demolition work on Charlotte Street and Holland Street,
which is being overseen by national contractor Shepherd
Construction, is due to complete by March.
Professor Ray Linforth, Principal of UCB and Nigel Moss,
Chairman of the College Corporation visited the site this week as
Elevate, a demolition contractor from Solihull, carefully
dismantled one of the buildings, a disused factory. One section of
the factory's façade will be retained, repaired and
incorporated into the new 7,592m² learning and teaching
facility to complement the style of the other adjoining
buildings.
The new building will enable UCB to provide a modern, high
quality learning environment for both postgraduates and
undergraduates as part of longer term plans for the redevelopment
of the whole four- acre site.
Designed over four floors, the new facility is set to achieve a
BREEAM Excellent rating and will include a dedicated Postgraduate
Centre, teaching spaces including three lecture theatres, a 24 hour
study hub and a 200-seater café.
The consultants working on the scheme include local practices
Associated Architects, EC Harris, Couch Consulting Engineers and
Couch, Perry & Wilkes as well as Nottingham based cost
consultants Gleeds
Peter Millett, Shepherd Construction's managing director for the
West Division commented: "Clearance of the site is progressing at a
rate of knots and once this is complete we will be preparing to
start work on the groundwork and drainage of the site."