The project is set to bring about transformation. The collective effort focuses on the retrofit five existing residential properties situated on the Edgbaston and Selly Oak campuses. The goal is to enhance carbon efficiency, collaborate with technology innovators, and explore a combination of solutions that work toward a net zero carbon future.

Through a fabric first approach, the University is looking to create five functional buildings with net zero carbon innovations, which will function a live dynamic experimental ground. Making strides towards improving net zero housing, discovering practical ways to weave sustainability into everyday living.

This ambitious project offers a unique opportunity to promote research and innovation with the aim of demonstrating how low-carbon, affordable housing at scale is possible in response to the UK Government’s wider climate ambitions of reaching Net Zero by 2050.

The “Net Zero Carbon Lodges initiative” is seeking to assemble an array of solutions, spanning from emerging concepts to products poised for the market . This comprehensive approach will encompass everything from innovative retrofit solutions that cover the entire building, from floor to roof.

The University is now looking to invite like-minded collaborators to join them on this journey. If you share a passion for creating greener, more sustainable solutions and want to be part of this transformative initiative, we encourage you to look at the details and access the application through the link provided below.

To express your interest in joining this transformative project, please visit the link: https://innovationgateway.com/2023-university-of-birmingham-living-lab-net-zero-carbon-lodges

Alternatively, for more information please take a look at the following brochure:

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/university/environment/low-carbon-lodges-brochure.pdf

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The building will provide Waters with a 300% increase in its available space compared to its existing premises in Solihull. We have been working alongside St. Modwen to design the new industry-leading science centre for Waters, a global leader in analytical instruments and software serving the life, materials, and food sciences. The US-based multinational has more than 7,800 employees worldwide with more than 1,000 employed across multiple facilities in England and Ireland.

The move will create over 100 skilled jobs and cement the company’s interests in the West Midlands.

Construction is due to start early 2023, with the specialist centre set to open in 2024. When complete, the new Waters facility will provide a world-class centre developing high-value analytical technologies and offering its customers industry-leading scientific expertise.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

“Having an industry-leading scientific company based at Longbridge represents another significant milestone in its ongoing regeneration. I hope this will be just one of many more exciting developments to come. I’m pleased that the WMCA has been able to support the rejuvenation of Longbridge. It’s an iconic location that has delivered so much prosperity in the past and I look forward to it playing a vital part in the West Midlands economy in the months and years ahead.”

The post US Multinational coming to Longbridge Precision Engineering Facility appeared first on Associated Architects.

Opening later this year, the 120,000 sq. ft new build will offer 10 storeys of 12,000 sq. ft floorplates providing contemporary, flexible office space designed with digital and tech businesses in mind.

Based in the city’s Knowledge Quarter, within 10 minutes’ walk of the city’s universities and 50,000 students, it’s the ideal place for companies wanting to access the tech community.

The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter will deliver 1.3m sq. ft of commercial and innovation space and create 3525 jobs. The area will become home to a number of key residential and mixed-use developments including our NetZero carbon ready project Curzon Wharf. The proximity to HS2 will link the Knowledge Quarter in Kings Cross to those in Birmingham and Manchester to create a Tech and Scientific corridor linking professionals in all three cities to amplify innovation.

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The Centre for Cyber Security is a joint venture between the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire County Council, with Skylon Park in the Hereford Enterprise Zone chosen as the site for the facility. The venture is part funded through the European Regional Development Fund in conjunction with the Marches LEP Local Growth Fund.

It will provide specific laboratory equipment, testing facilities, innovation workspace and collaborative R&D units enabling the private sector businesses within it to utilise the University of Wolverhampton’s expertise, extended networks and capacity to stimulate new applications and other products. This will enable the university to stimulate growth in the area courtesy of innovation and improved productivity in SMEs. Their aim is to become a leader in the field of cyber security related areas, through advanced research and engagement with business operating in the field of cyber innovation.

At a little over 2,100sq.m, the three-storey facility features a triple height central atrium that acts as a welcoming space that can be used for breakout, waiting and socialising, while providing a legible space for ease of navigation to each floor.

The post Work set to start on Cyber Quarter appeared first on Associated Architects.

NEXUS is a community of innovators located on the Leeds Campus, providing easy access to the University’s research and expertise designed to be a place to stimulate the development of research and innovation initiatives – an ‘incubation’ hub for technology-led collaborative partnerships developing world-class ideas born on the campus

The building also marks a key gateway to the Southern quarter of the University’s campus masterplan.

Dramatic triple-height spaces on the Ground and First floors of the 75,000 sq.ft building have been designed to support this innovation ecosystem, connecting business, academia and partners via a year-round programme of events and activities to deliver beneficial ‘cultivated collaborations’. Exhibition space and a 120-seat lecture theatre are key settings for this and a range of breakout spaces, a flexible seminar suite, café and business lounge offer additional spaces for communication and collaboration. Technical accommodation on the upper floors includes rentable laboratories and write-up spaces with a variety of fit-out levels and offices.

For more information on NEXUS visit their website

www.nexusleeds.co.uk

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The University of Wolverhampton has approved £1.5m to contribute to the Centre of Cyber Security after securing grant funding of £4m from the Marches LEP Local Growth Fund and £1.1m of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Herefordshire Council has approved further funding of £3.5m to contribute to the centre, which will be located on Skylon Park, in the Hereford Enterprise Zone.

The three-storey, 2,245sq.m space will allow the university to build upon the academic and research expertise it brings in IT innovation and cyber-related fields, becoming a leader in the field of cyber security related areas, through advanced research and engagement with business operating in the field of cyber innovation. The Centre of Cyber Security will allow Herefordshire businesses to utilise the University of Wolverhampton’s expertise and networks.

The new centre will offer research facilities through the university’s Cyber Security Research Institute as well as providing office space for cyber businesses. It will also offer advanced training facilities designed specifically to tackle threats in cyberspace. The Centre for Cyber Security will provide specific laboratory equipment, testing facilities, innovation workspace and collaborative R&D units enabling the private sector to utilise the university’s expertise, extended networks and capacity to stimulate new applications and other products. This will enable the university to stimulate growth in the area courtesy of innovation and improved productivity in SMEs.

A triple height central atrium acts as a welcoming space that can be used for breakout, waiting and socialising, while providing a legible space for ease of navigation to each floor.

Prof Ian Oakes, University of Wolverhampton Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said:

“The university has already formed strong, collaborative relationships with key companies to engage with cyber research, training programmes and enterprise development and has a number of research teams associated with the development of cyber security.

“Our strategy is to bring together our collective expertise in a centre of excellence with partners both in the UK and internationally.

“The new centre will organise, facilitate and support the development of cyber security on a global scale whilst at the same time present us with opportunities to develop high quality academic, vocational educational and training programmes to address the digital skills shortage being experienced nationally.”

Cllr David Harlow, Herefordshire Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Communications, added:

“The cyber security sector is an important and fast growing part of the UK economy, and Herefordshire is proud to be home to the new Centre for Cyber Security and a growing cluster of cyber security businesses.

“The new centre will provide a unique range of facilities including business space for SMEs research, product testing laboratory space and educational and training space, and will act as a draw for national investment in the local economy.”

Building works are expected to start in November with completion expected in 2020.

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The Barn is the UK’s first ever “Multi-Comfort” building, and a world-first Multi-Comfort school. It is designed as a striking contemporary re-interpretation of an agricultural barn.

Multi-Comfort is a new wholistic low energy and well-being building standard, developed by the Saint-Gobain building materials company.  It includes the world-leading standard known as “Passivhaus”. This is an increasingly recognised energy performance standard, with over 30,000 buildings globally, the majority built in the last ten years. The Passivhaus standards, originally developed in Germany, are independently certified and require excellent thermal insulation standards, exceptional building airtightness and filtered heat-recovery ventilation.

Average UK primary schools use around 100 units of heat per year (kWh/sqm/yr), whereas the Passivhaus/Multi Comfort standard is 15.  During it’s first year of occupation the Bartholomew Barn has used only 4 kWh/sqm/yr, with an enviable heating bill of just £75.

Other Multi Comfort criteria include daylighting and acoustic standards, going beyond efficiency to the comfort of occupants.  Full criteria are at:

https://multicomfort.saint-gobain.co.uk/media/1084/multi-comfort-softback-brochure-2015.pdf  

and

http://www.multicomfort.co.uk/

A website dedicated to this building, including a talk extract from Associated Architects’ John Christophers, is at:

https://multicomfort.saint-gobain.co.uk/multi-comfort-projects/bartholomew-barn/

We advocate that the buildings we design today are likely to be in use into the next century, and therefore building fabric (walls, roofs, windows, airtightness etc) should be constructed to the highest standards to avoid costly future upgrades, slash heating bills and minimise carbon emissions. Associated Architects are members of the Passivhaus Trust, where the standard is described and of the UK Green Building Council, which has championed the business case for sustainability (https://www.ukgbc.org/courses/getting-started-business-case-sustainability/).

The post Passive House Plus feature for Bartholomew Barn appeared first on Associated Architects.

This year we are proud to have partnered with Arup to send one of our own young professionals, Jamie Green, to compete.

James Walley (Civil Engineer), Saya Kansangra (Graduate Civil Engineer), Daniel Watson (Landscape Architect), Anett Schwinkendorf (Mechanical Engineer), Harry Betts (Structural Engineer) all teamed up with Jamie for Teambuild 2017.

Their team, Triple_A, with its tagline ‘Collaborate to Innovate. Recharge’, proposed a masterplan design for the Potters Row area in Edinburgh. The proposal was for the University of Edinburgh and solved pedestrian permeability issues, reclaimed back areas of road for public use, demarked two plots for university building development and created a new, digitally enhanced public realm destination for the city.

Well done Triple_A!

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Ideate helps Autodesk Revit users pull information from a file into Excel and push volumes of precise BIM data back into a Revit Model, an approach we have used on a number of our high-profile projects.

Read the full case study here: http://www.excitech.co.uk/Insights/Case-Studies/Associated-Architects-Ideate-BIMLink-case-study

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RIBA West Midlands, the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design and the Association of Architectural Educators (aae) organised the event which saw BIM experts from across the industry talk in length about BIM to students and peers. David, who has helped develop BIM software and spoken at other events, talked about the BIM usage, development and implementation across three of the Birmingham City University City Centre Campus buildings, namely Parkside, The Curzon Building and Curzon B. He highlighted how Associated Architects’ BIM journey has progressed in parallel with the university’s, to the point where we are now delivering cutting edge bespoke BIM Level 2 projects to suit their specific needs for a BIM based facilities management system.

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