Network Rail makes tracks to new offices
THE company in charge of railway infrastructure in England has moved from one iconic Birmingham building to another.
Network Rail has moved from The Mailbox to the historic Baskerville House in Centenary Square.
It has taken three floors in the historic Art Deco building which is on the site of the home of famed 18th century printer and type designer John Baskerville.
The floors have been transformed into 85,000 sq ft of refurbished office space including meeting rooms, a staff restaurant, kitchen, waiting area and communications rooms.
Network Rail made the move after deciding its previous premises had aged significantly and would have been difficult to refit while occupied.
The 17-week refurbishment was carried out by specialists Overbury.
Danny Parmar, business development manager at Overbury’s Birmingham-based Central team, said: “We were delighted to have secured the fit-out for Network Rail under competitive bidding.
“This was helped by the pre-existing relationship we have with Network Rail, having worked with the company before.
“It is a very well-known and much-loved building within the city, and there was a lot of interest in Network Rail’s move when news of it spread last year.
“This made it an even more attractive proposition for us as it gave us a platform on which to showcase our high quality work.” Originally completed in 1938, Baskerville House was formerly used as offices for Birmingham City Council. Plans were once mooted to convert the grade II-listed building into a Radisson Hotel. A feasibility study was also carried out into whether it was possible to locate the old Central Library there. But the building was deemed not to be suitable as it would not be strong enough to hold all the books.
Some believe that Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who lived briefly in Birmingham, used the name of John Baskerville as the inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes classic The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Network Rail has nominated the new workspace for a British Council for Offices award – an industry accolade which recognises the most inspirational offices across the country and celebrates best practice in commercial fit-out.