Students play their part in new £31m extension
WORK is nearing completion on a new £31 million university building in Birming- ham.
A topping out ceremony was held at the ‘Curzon B’ building on Birmingham City University’s (BCU) new city centre campus where a 100,000 sq ft extension is being built.
The extension to the Curzon Building will become home to 3,000 staff and students.
Contractor Willmott Dixon has been working with students from BCU’s built environment faculty on the project.
Vice-chancellor Graham Upton said: “Curzon B will be the latest in a line of new buildings to open on our city centre campus, all of which have allowed us to keep providing students with even better facilities for the duration of their studies. The fact that our students have been given the opportunity to play a part in developing this new building makes it even more pleasing for all of us at the university. This part of the city has really grown and developed in recent years and it is fantastic to see it thriving, something which is set to continue with the arrival of HS2 and the Metro on the horizon.”
The new structure will extend BCU’s Curzon building which has been housed in Cardigan Street in the Eastside district since 2015 as the university gradually shifts staff and facilities away from its old campus in Perry Barr.
The building forms part of the university’s £260 million investment into new facilities which will be boosted further later this year with the opening of the new Birmingham Conservatoire.
Peter Owen, managing director at Willmott Dixon, added: “We are delighted to be working with Birmingham City University once again to deliver this brand new facility, Curzon B, following the completion of The Curzon and The Parkside Buildings within the past five years.
“Ongoing, active engagement with the university is a key driver for Willmott Dixon in ensuring that students are able to apply their learning to real live examples. Midland