West Midlands Construction UTC - Associated Architects

Project Value:

£10 million

Key Points

600-student college

State of the art design studios

External Space

Purpose-built construction training facility

Unparalleled Training

The West Midlands Construction University Technical College (UTC) is a purpose-built facility sponsored by the University of Wolverhampton and Construction Industry Training Board that aims to support the development of a skilled workplace for the region.

We were commissioned alongside Thomas Vale Construction to deliver this newStat UTC to accommodate 600 students, aged 14-19 who will receive unparalleled training in architecture, interior design, surveying, civil engineering, construction management, BIM engineering and construction-focussed IT. Students learn in a variety of state-of-the-art design studios, a large construction workshop, engineering and science labs, seminar rooms, a lecture room, innovation lab, 3D visualisation suite and a ‘maker space.’ External space has been set aside to allow students space to undertake construction projects and recreational activities.

The UTC promotes an employer-led curriculum, including; project based learning, work-related experiences and apprenticeships. An extensive network of industrial partners supports the UTC and has helped to establish it as a beacon of educational excellence. Key members include Balfour Beatty, BAM Construction, Morgan Sindall, Redrow and Wilmott Dixon. By engaging students with industrial partners and the University in their formative years the UTC is able to offer holistic support to each student’s developing strengths and interests.

Expertly Equipped Technical Learning Facility

The site is part of the former Springfield Brewery and includes a Grade II listed building which has been incorporated into the 5,400sq.m Gross Internal Floor Area of the UTC scheme. We undertook sympathetic repairs and refurbishments to bring it in line with current Building Regulation standards, whilst working hard to conserve many of the historical features. A distinctive listed wall on the boundary of the site has been kept to retain the area’s character on the street level.

The UTC is seen as having set the both the benchmark for future developments on the site and in providing an expertly equipped technical learning facility that allows students to develop their skills with real world partners and projects.

The UTC forms part of a £100 million project which turned the 12 acre, Grade II listed former brewery into an architecture and built environment super-campus. Following the success of the UTC, on this site we have subsequently completed the £51 million University of Wolverhampton School of Architecture and the Built Environment, where the imaginative pairing of the old and new will be of particular relevance, acting as a live case study for students, and are currently working on the new £17.5 million National Brownfield Institute, a facility to research and develop new construction methods and ways of regenerating contaminated land.