Matthew Boulton Campus, Birmingham Metropolitan College
| Contact Details: | Clive Hill, Director of Information Systems & Facilities, chill@mbc.ac.uk |
| Type of Project: | New Build/Relocation. Existing site 1960's unfit for purpose and uneconomic to refurbish. Also delivered regeneration at both old and new sites. |
| Start/End Date: | Project conceived end 1999/early 2000. Commencement on site September 2003 (Demolition). Construction commenced January 2004, completion July 2005 and open to students September 2005. This case study was undertaken in 2006 at which point the institution was known as Matthew Boulton College. The Matthew Boulton Campus is now part of the Birmingham Metropolitan College. |
Background & Context
The buildings were in a state of decay and investment was needed. The site of the old buildings was worth money so there was potential to raise money for new building. The city council was supportive in wanting to regenerate both the old and new sites. The College has been relocated to the Eastside Learning Quarter regeneration area of Birmingham, near to the Bullring.
The new development is a 21st Century educational facility which is 'not about the buildings but about the people'. The intention is that it will provide, 'opportunities, success for all and make a significant contribution to the development of education, skills and future prosperity' for the region.
The building has been developed specifically for e-learning and houses both general and specialist teaching facilities covering a wide range of vocational areas, including creative arts areas, a live clinical operating theatre, a 60 place child nursery and a cafe.
The college wanted the new state of the art facilities to 'attract inner city students both full and part time as well as professionals who are part-time learners'. Their adjacency to Aston University campus was considered to be a major strength and an ideal way of encouraging students to 'move seamlessly from our programmes to full degrees at the University'.
