City planners in Birmingham have given the green light to a striking new 'lantern' building as part of a long-term plan by Aston University to overhaul its campus.
The ten-storey block will be constructed at the corner of Woodcock Street and Lister Street near the Sacks of Potatoes pub and contain work, teaching and social learning space as well as a ground floor public arcade with a café and landscaped plaza (fly-through video above).
A fountain at the application site, which is now largely disused following the relocation of the students' union, will be relocated as part of the scheme.
The bold designs for the 129,165 sq ft building were first unveiled in March and have now been backed by members of Birmingham City Council's planning committee at its meeting today.
It is part of a wider masterplan by the university to upgrade its campus and benefit surrounding communities.
Aston University's director of estates Ian Oldacre said: "Our ambitious campus vision sets out our aspiration to invest significantly in the delivery of a destination campus to meet the changing demands and opportunities faced by universities.
"Aston University's future growth will embrace evolving trends such as online and remote learning, greater connectivity, the growth in international students and closer collaboration with commercial partners and the business community.
"This new landmark building represents the first stage of our masterplan and long-term strategy.
"We have worked closely with our partners at Birmingham City Council to develop a building of iconic status, not only for Aston University, but for the city of Birmingham."
The design team has been led by architecture practice Hawkins\Brown whose previous work in the education sector includes projects for University College London, University of Oxford and University of Manchester.
Partner Tom Noonan added: "This landmark building will serve as a dynamic new front door to Aston University's campus - an interface between the university and the wider city.
"It is designed as a building of two halves: civic uses are provided in the lower section which opens out onto a landscaped plaza, enabling new public routes to emerging districts such as Birmingham's knowledge quarter.
"Above this plinth is a more playful 'lantern' which contains learning spaces and academic offices.
"The dynamic and visually striking lantern offers roof terraces where the floorplates shift and is designed to deliver new types of flexible spaces for the university well into the future."
