This year, the Green Heart will reach key milestones in its development. The latest information and advice regarding these milestones will be updated here.
New landscaping phase to begin
The next vital piece of work to commence on the Green Heart will focus around the Art Buildings to enable the team to repave the pathways and former car park in this area. From Saturday 14 July to Friday 21 September, pathways between Muirhead Tower (R21) and the Arts Building (R16) will close. There will be no public access along these pathways and as a result, building access from these pathways will also be closed. Alternative routes will be clearly signposted throughout the works. This construction has been programmed to commence after degree congregations in July 2018 and be completed before Welcome Week in September 2018. A map outlining the alternative routes can be found here. If you want to get in touch with any questions or concerns that you may have, please email us at greenheart@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
Second phase of University Square reopened
With a spell of good weather, the Green Heart site team handed over the west side of University Square to the University on Friday 18 May. Over that weekend, the fencing around this area was removed and University Square is now fully accessible once more from 21 May. Planting, grass reseeding and final touches will now continue. Work will now focus on the former library and North Car Park site which will be completed late 2018 - early 2019 (weather dependent); a definite opening schedule will be released closer to the time. For more information, please visit the Intranet.
What steps have been taken to reduce disruption on campus during exams 2018?
Working with Willmott Dixon, we have implemented a series of actions that should reduce disruption as much as possible during the study and exam period this year. Measure taken include deliberately programming the noisier and more disruptive work to be completed before the start of the summer term, installing acoustic booths and fixing sound monitoring stations around the perimeter of the Green Heart site. If you have any questions or concerns about the Green Heart during this time, please contact us on greenheart@contacts.bham.ac.uk. Find out more about these measures on our blog.
Second phase of University Square transformation has begun
The transformation of the first phase of University Square is now complete. The west section of University Square, closest to Staff House, has now been cordoned off and temporary hoardings have been erected. University Square will be fully reopened in June. Temporary pathways and ramps have been installed where appropriate and disabled access has been maintained. If you have any questions about the changes, please email the Green Heart team at greenheart@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we will be happy to help. For more information, please visit the Intranet.
Second phase of University Square transformation to begin
The transformation of the first phase of University Square is now drawing to a close, and will be completed by mid-February (weather dependent). Since August 2017, the redeveloped space has had new lighting, benches and pathways installed, as well as the first of 160 new trees across the Green Heart.
In the coming weeks, the section of University Square closest to Staff House will be cordoned off and temporary hoardings will be gradually erected by mid-February (weather dependent). Temporary pathways and ramps will be provided where appropriate and disabled access will be maintained. The hoardings will be removed in June and University Square will be fully accessible once more.
If you have any questions about the changes, please email the Green Heart team at greenheart@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we will be happy to help. For more information, please visit the Intranet.
Launching the Green Heart Open Forums
This year, progress surrounding the Green Heart will rapidly advance with the completion of University Square, and work on the former library site taking shape. We are hosting Open Forums throughout 2018 to give staff and students the opportunity to find out more.
These sessions give staff and students the opportunity to discover more about the project’s development from chief architects, Churchman Landscape Architects, and key contractors, Willmott Dixon. Each Forum will also conclude with Q&As from the audience, giving you the chance to ask the questions most important to you. Find out when our next Open Forum will be held now.
The first mature trees are introduced to the Green Heart
The first wave of carefully selected mature trees have been lowered into the Green Heart, with the first one ceremonially planted by Vice Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood. In our growing 12 acre parkland at the centre of our historic campus, the ceremony celebrated the beginning of an ambitious planting project which will see 160 new trees incorporated onto campus by 2019. The new trees will join 144 already in situ.
The Green Heart will create a sustainable, natural and environmentally friendly landscape; both for people and wildlife. Not only will the Green Heart enhance the University’s ecology, but the parkland will provide a unique space for performances, socialising, meeting and studying, while opening up views across the whole campus, as envisaged in the 1920s.
Former library demolition and the Green Heart
The final phase of the former library demolition will be completed by the end of November 2017. In these final stages, disruption levels on campus have increased. As a result, the Green Heart Project Team has moved the most disruptive work to the weekend so as to reduce noise where possible. We are also continuing to monitor the noise levels around the site and taking action where necessary. However, if you have a particular concern about disruption at a specific time, please contact us on greenheart@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we can look into the issue for you.
The first steps towards creating the Green Heart in University Square are also underway and will take place over two phases from August 2017 to February 2018, and then February to June 2018. Accessibility around University Square, the new library and the former library site are being maintained throughout the works with the installation of temporary ramps and footpaths now complete. All new routes are clearly signposted and accessibility information is being played on screens around campus. You can find out more about the landscaping works at on the Intranet. If you encounter any accessibility difficulties, please contact us on the email address above.
Restoring the University crests
You may have noticed that a key feature at the heart of our historic campus has now been removed. Namely, the University crests, which sat above the entrance of the former library. But, never fear, they will be back. On 26 June, scaffolding was erected on the front facade of the former library to enable the continued demolition of the site. They were also being used to enable specialists to remove the University crests. They are currently being safely packed and sent to expert restorers who will return the crests to their former glory. They will then be incorporated back at the ‘heart’ of campus in the Green Heart in 2019. If you watch our animation, you’ll spot them at the end of the video.
Landscaping the Green Heart
The first steps towards creating the Green Heart that will transform the centre of campus have now begun. The first two phases of work will involve landscaping University Square from August 2017 to February 2018, and then from February to June 2018. As a result of this, there will be a need to temporarily change pathways across and near this part of campus. Green Heart landscaping on the former library site will commence in mid-November. Our commitment to staff and students is to ensure we provide timely and accurate information about what those changes are, and what alternative routes are best to take around campus; including disabled access. This will be done in a variety of ways including signage on campus, Twitter, blog posts and a dedicate webpage; all will be regularly updated.
North Car Park Permanent Closure
North Car Park will permanently close on 8 September. This will enable us to progress plans to create 12 acres of stunning parkland at the centre of campus. The Green Heart will create a unique space for performances, socialising, meeting and studying for students, staff and the local community when completed in 2019.
Car parking spaces will return to pre-closure capacity over the next 6 months. In the interim we advise parking in the North East multi-storey, Pritchatts Road car park and Pritchatts Park Village. For further information on alternative parking sites head to the car park website, or contact carparking@bham.ac.uk or 0121 414 2623.
How you helped to pave the way?
In December 2016 and January 2017, our Green Heart student ambassadors braved the elements in University Square to take your votes in the Paving Poll. With voting also online, the Poll closed on 27 January with over 1,500 votes from University staff and students, and the local community. Thank you to everyone who voted. Your top picks were Pumpkin Patch, Squirrel Stash, Frosty Branch, Tree Carving and Birds Nest. The Poll was a valuable tool in shaping the Green Heart and we will be incorporating three of your top five pavings. Find out more here.
The Green Heart’s green credentials
This Monday (20 March), Spring officially began, despite the persistent rain forecast for this week. With Spring in-mind, we explore how ‘green’ the Green Heart will be? Throughout the design process, the project team have sought to create a sustainable, natural and environmentally friendly landscape; both for people and wildlife.
The Green Heart will bring an array of wild flowers and native plants to campus. These have been carefully selected to encourage local species, and we will be incorporating nesting sites to attract wildlife including bats, swifts and hedgehogs. As well as lush grass areas, we will plant 160 new trees, across 42 species, and protect 144 existing trees. This tapestry of colour and textures will improve air quality, provide shade and create a place of serenity. Water features will also provide a relaxing audio backdrop, be a natural source of drainage management and further attract wildlife.
We’ve appointed lighting experts to develop zoned lighting which will incorporate timber columns and energy-saving techniques to complement the natural environment. Carefully managed systems will enable us to keep campus safe and bright, while delivering an ambient environment and minimising light pollution or waste. We have also incorporated energy generating paving which produces power when people walk across it, and rain gardens, which will accommodate all rainwater on-site, thus doing away with conventional drains.
Former library under wraps
Anyone crossing University Square since February will not have failed to notice the wrap on the former library, giving students, staff and visitors a chance to see what the Green Heart development will look like when completed in 2019.
Measuring over 12 acres, the Green Heart project will provide a space to meet, work and play, while also opening up views across the whole campus. It aims to significantly enhance the student experience in particular by incorporating indoor and outdoor study spaces, giving space for performances and entertainment, and enhancing well-being. The Green Heart will be good for our environment as well; we will plant 160 new trees, across 42 species, and incorporate wildlife nesting, as well as build new water features, rain gardens, zoned lighting and energy generating paving.
To achieve this ambition, and as part of the new library construction project, one of the planning conditions was that the former library would be demolished. Careful consideration as been given as to how best to mitigate the impact of this disruption, and enhance the student experience whilst these works are carried out. For example, the programme has been structured to reduce the impact on the academic calendar with the majority of demolition works taking place after summer exams in 2017.
By wrapping the building with an artist impression of the new space, we hope to give everyone a glimpse of the improvements we are making, while minimising the severity of the heavy construction work taking place behind it, and helping to contain the disruption of the internal strip-out. The University community experience is extremely important to the Green Heart project team, and we will continue to keep you updated on the progress of this exciting new project across our channels.
North Car Park closure
North Car Park will be closed on 21-22 January and 28 January in order to safely fell a number of trees in order to clear the way for the development of the Green Heart project.
The nearest alternative parking is available in the North East Car Park, next to 52 Pritchatts Road. There is also parking available at Pritchatts Road Car Park and across campus.
If you have any queries regarding this closure, please contact Grounds and Gardens on 0121 414 3478, or head to the University travel pages for alternative car parking and sustainable travel advice.
Building a rich green tapestry
Due to the scale of the Green Heart’s development, we have carried about an extensive review of the trees currently planted on campus. A survey of an existing 216 trees was undertaken by an expert arboriculturalist who categorised each as either: A - trees of high quality, B - trees of moderate quality, C - trees of low quality and U - trees unsuitable for retention. 72 trees are designated for removal based on the arboriculturalist’s advice.
144 existing trees are being integrated into the Green Heart as well as flowers, shrubs and grasses. These trees will be conserved by root protection and construction exclusion zones during building work. An additional 160 new trees, across 42 species, will be planted in the Green Heart, with a number of larger, semi-mature trees to allow the landscape to grow at varying paces.
Work to fell specific trees safely will begin on 21 January and will be carried out on subsequent weekends only.
The start of a new era
The University’s iconic former library was opened on the Edgbaston campus in 1957. It was built in the ‘red brick’ style which was architecturally popular at that time. Originally, the intention was to build a ‘H’ shaped structure in two or more stages, but the later stages of construction were delayed and ultimately never completed. When construction resumed, many years later, concrete was used to construct the remainder of the building as red brick was by then out of fashion! That is why at least 1/3 of the former library was constructed from concrete, and not from brick.
Contrary to the original designs, the former library housed fewer study spaces than envisioned because one of the wings proposed was never constructed. As the decades rolled by, the building's foundations started to show signs of ‘sinking’, and cracking was visible on some of the outer walls. Unknown during construction, some of the materials that were widely used are also now known to be unsafe.
As part of the consultation to redevelop the University’s library services for 21st century education (which began over ten years ago), lengthy consideration was given to options to redevelop and repurpose the existing library. Costs aside, there were limitations to how much could be done to improve and expand the building itself; spaces in the former library were difficult to repurpose and there was restricted scope for improvements. Sadly, the former library’s infrastructure was rapidly deteriorating as time passed and, by the time it closed, required 24-hour running and maintenance. An entire new building was calculated as being financially viable in comparison. Additionally, the cost of permanent lighting and heating was environmentally unsustainable and damaging. In contrast, the new Library uses approximately 50% less energy than the previous library and its roof is covered in solar panels generating 92,000 kWh/annum. The building was awarded BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status for sustainability due to these innovations and many others.
It was agreed that the University’s students, staff and researchers deserved a state-of-the-art facility fit for the 21st century and beyond. The new library now brings together collections that were dispersed across campus making them much more accessible, as well as housing over 2.1 printed books and journals. Due to the modern design and flexible layout, the library team were able to incorporate over 300 extra study seats in comparison to the former library’s provision of 1467 seats. There are now over 1800 study seats, 1124 study desks (each with a power socket), 4433 collaborative study spaces and 336 PCs. Find out more about the new library here.