McIntrye House UCB - Associated Architects

Project Value:

£17.5m

Client:

Completion:

2014

Key Points

RIBA Award
EPC B
BREEAM Excellent
7,200sq.m teaching and learning space
two 126-seat lecture theatres and a 250-seat flagship lecture theatre

Purpose Built

McIntyre House is a striking, high quality and award winning purpose built educational facility in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter.

We were appointed by University College Birmingham in 2009, after a limited competition, to deliver the 7,200sq.m of teaching and learning space. Our response to the brief delivered a building with strong sustainability credentials. Ratings of EPC B and BREEAM Excellent have been achieved through the combination of super-efficient services systems, high levels of insulation and visible features such as a green roof and a photovoltaic array.

McIntyre House boasts a flagship 250-seat lecture theatre, complemented by two 126-seat theatres and a number of academic teaching spaces that accommodate between 25-50 students. A 24-7 student hub can be found on the ground floor, with I.T facilities, informal breakout spaces and presentation rooms. The three-storey atrium at the centre of McIntyre House floods the building with natural daylight, creating a brightly lit, collaborative heart to the building. An external seating area is reached through the 200-seat cafe.

Reinterpreting Character

The building’s dramatic colonnaded form is a contemporary reinterpretation of the built character and forms of the Jewellery Quarter. Warm red brick, glazing and copper panelling echo the industrial heritage of the area, as well as delivering a sleek, modern facade. Internally the building’s concrete frame is left exposed. Timber cladding is used to highlight key features, such as the internal staircase and teaching suites. A rooftop terrace, complete with planting and water feature, provides panoramic views across the Quarter, giving students and staff a tranquil escape in the middle of a bustling city.

The internal high quality in-situ concrete is nicely contrasted with well detailed timber cladding that defines the central core, feature stair and lecture theatre. The jury noted the care and attention taken by Associated Architects to ensure well resolved detailing and careful lining up of fittings and fixtures. To achieve this with in-situ concrete in […]

RIBA Awards Jury 2016

A Broader Masterplan

We have designed a modern campus building that has unified staff and students from existing disparate sites around Birmingham. MacIntyre Houses paves the way for future additions to the city centre campus, including a 7,000sq.m Postgraduate Centre, a 300 space multi-storey car park, a student residential block of 240 en-suite bedrooms, University managed retail units and a 11,000sq.m Undergraduate building. In 2016 the building was awarded a RIBA medal, the jury praised McIntyre House for creating a ‘welcoming gateway to the planned future campus development.’