Landmark Signing for Birmingham City

• Browse By Section
• News
• Landmark Signing for Birmingham City

Plans for a new landmark building at Aston University have been approved by Birmingham City Council. The new HawkinsBrown designed building will form a centrepiece of a campus masterplan.

Civic uses are provided in the ground floor, which opens out onto a landscaped plaza, enabling new public routes to emerging districts such as Birmingham's Knowledge Quarter.

Innovative learning spaces and academic offices will occupy the upper floors, delivering new types of flexible spaces for the University well into the future.

Plans for the ten-storey project were approved on 4 August.

Public spaces

The ground floor to the building will be open to the University community and public alike. A generous new ground floor arcade, with social spaces and a café, will provide spaces to relax, socialise and connect with the new landscaped public realm.

 “Our ambitious campus vision sets out our aspiration to invest significantly in the delivery of a ‘destination campus’ to meet the changing demands and opportunities faced by universities.”

– Ian Oldacre 

Director of estates, Aston University

“Aston University’s future growth will embrace evolving trends such as online and remote learning, greater connectivity, the growth in international students and closer collaboration with commercial partners and the business community," continued  Oldacre. “We have worked closely with our partners at Birmingham City Council to develop a building of iconic status, not only for Aston University, but for the city of Birmingham.”

Tom Noonan, partner at HawkinsBrown said: “It has been designed as a building of two halves - civic uses are provided in the lower section. Above this plinth is a more 'playful' glazed lantern which contains learning spaces and academic offices. The dynamic and visually striking lantern offers roof terraces where the floorplates shift and is designed to deliver new types of flexible spaces for the University well into the future.”

HawkinsBrown was appointed to design the building following a competition in 2019 and leads a consultant team that includes Price & Myers, Hoare Lea and Ridge & Partners.

Atrium

A generous atrium rises through the height of the building, forming the primary circulation. Open, flexible spaces for social learning face onto the atrium, benefitting from natural ventilation, valuable daylight and direct access to external roof terraces to support sustainability and wellbeing.

Picture: Plans for a new landmark building at Aston University have been approved by Birmingham City Council. It will feature a glazed lantern.

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
18th August 2021

Share

Related Articles