The iconic design of Bournville College’s new £66 million building is starting to appear as main contractor Shepherd Construction begins to install a series of huge wooden beams that will lend a distinctive appearance to the college frontage.
At nine metres high and 26 metreslong, each of the 34 glulam beams, so-called because they are glued andlaminated using sustainably-sourced wood, will create the frame for theLearning and Resource Centre’s glass roof as well as providing a designfeature externally.
The beams, each weighing 5.5 tonnes,are being lifted into place by a tower crane over the next nine weeksby Shepherd Construction, which is building the 250,000 sq ftdevelopment on behalf of regeneration specialist St Modwen.
Themain building structure is due to complete in the next six weeks withthe external appearance undergoing a dramatic transformation during thenext few months as the cladding programme progresses.
Constructionis due to complete in September 2011, bringing together the threeexisting campuses onto one site, and serving up to 15,000 students.
Theproject team is working closely with St. Modwen, Advantage WestMidlands, Birmingham City Council and the Environment Agency to deliverthe new College, which will be situated off the A38 Bristol Road Southat the heart of the 468-acre former MG Rover car production plant.Architect Broadway Malyan has designed the college and a furtherBirmingham-based company Gifford is providing the structuralengineering expertise.
Mark Batchelor, construction managerfor St. Modwen, said: “As construction of the new Bournville Collegecontinues to move forward, the scale and distinctive appearance of thebuilding are becoming more and more evident. The addition of theglulam beams clearly demonstrates the high standard of the design andconstruction of this landmark building, providing an early indicationof what can be expected from the completed project.”