Birmingham City University can trace its establishment back to 1843 as the Birmingham College of Art. It gained University status in 1992, and has three main campuses serving four faculties, and offers a variety of courses in art and design, business, the built environment, computing, education, engineering, English, healthcare, law, the performing arts, social sciences, and technology. With a growing student population, the University outsources much of its accommodation to Campus Living Villages, which has taken over the management of Bagot Street Blocks D and E in Birmingham – a new development in the heart of the city.
Bagot Street Blocks D and E are high-end properties and home to 492 beds. They add significant student accommodation capacity to the existing blocks (A, B, C) at the older Bagot Street site, as well as hosting significant retail space on the ground floor. Technically, the project is two blocks joined together by a single storey link building – one block is seven storeys and the other 11 storeys in height.
Tim Groom Architects designed a building that was not only modern and innovative, but also sympathetic to the natural ‘city-centre’ surroundings creating a stunning construction with a ‘hotel feel’. The solution was to use less institutional-style fixtures and fittings, along with contemporary furniture design and intelligent storage solutions. However, this more up-market and desirable student destination still had to be achieved at an affordable price, without compromising important factors such as fire safety, energy efficiency and aesthetics.
To achieve the striking up-market ‘City-Centre’ feel, the architects, working with main contractor Watkins Jones Group specified ALUCOBOND® A2 for the facade, fixed using rivets – some 11,500 m² across the entire building. Four special RAL colours were also chosen to achieve the up-market appearance, being processed by FGF Limited and installed by Precision Facades.
The many advantages of ALUCOBOND® A2 composite panels contributed to their choice for the project; high-quality, resilient and unique in appearance, they were the ideal choice for a sustainable construction boasting quality while also facilitating the highest creative expression. ALUCOBOND® A2 is also distinguished by its outstanding product attributes such as precise flatness, variety of surfaces and colours as well as excellent formability, and with its chosen core – fire-retardant mineral filled core ALUCOBOND® A2, the building is also extremely safe and confidence inspiring for its owners and occupants. In fact, ALUCOBOND® A2 meets the strict requirements of fire regulations and enhances the possibilities for the concept and design of the building. ALUCOBOND® A2, just like all the products of the ALUCOBOND® family, allows simple processing, is impact-resistant, weatherproof, and above all, non-combustible. ALUCOBOND® A2 panels are also weather resistant and colour fast – essential if the building’s appearance is to be maintained over the entire lifetime of the building.
Paul Herbert, Specification Manager 07584 680262
Richard Clough, Business Development Manager 07760 884369
Project data
Project: Bagot Student Accommodation
Location: Bagot Street, Birmingham, UK
Facade material: ALUCOBOND® A2 special colours
Construction system: Riveted, Screwed
Architects: Tim Groom Architects
Fabricator/Installer: FGF/Precision Facades
Year of construction: 2018
Copyright pictures: Silver Linings Media