£61m university contract for Willmott Dixon

The £61m contract is the first phase of Birmingham City University’s £180m plan to build a new campus at Eastside in the city centre.

Willmott Dixon will build a 18,310 square metre home for the university’s Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) on a plot next to Millennium Point.

The new centre, designed by Associated Architects, will have TV, radio and photographic studios for the university’s media production courses.

Plans for the five-storey building, adjacent to Cardigan Street, were approved by Birmingham City Council in April. Work on phase one is now scheduled to start in autumn 2011 and be ready for occupation in September 2013.

The new campus will benefit from being next to Millennium Point, which is already home to the University’s Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment (TEE) and the Birmingham School of Acting.

Further development is also possible on nearby land at Eastside thanks to an agreement made in June involving the University and joint venture partners Birmingham City Council and Advantage West Midlands.

Willmott Dixon midlands managing director Peter Owen said: “Our role with Birmingham City University places us at the heart of creating Birmingham’s bright future. We will make sure the local community benefits from our work, which includes spending around 80% of our budget on companies within 30 miles using local subcontractors, trades people and suppliers.” 

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