BLSS Bulletin
Summer 2015
Rooftop milestone for The Curzon Building
Birmingham City University’s £260m campus investment programme took a major step forward with the ‘topping out’ of The Curzon Building, a state-of-the-art facility opening to students in September 2015.
The £63m project, housing a new library, student hub and the University’s schools of Business, Law, English and Social Sciences, includes the complete restoration of a Victorian pub, The Eagle and Ball, which will offer a unique new home to the Students Union. The topping out ceremony was led by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Shafique Shah, Birmingham City University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Cliff Allan, and Peter Owen, Willmott Dixon’s Managing Director for the Midlands - the company developing The Curzon Building.
Mr Owen said partnership with Birmingham City University had enabled 140 students to gain practical experience of construction and architecture, with two graduates now employed permanently by Willmott Dixon, and “adding a lot of value to our business”. Professor Allan welcomed the learning opportunities for students and graduates to get high quality employment experience, and added: “This, and the other recent developments, are more than just buildings. They will help us to transform the experience of everyone who will be occupying
• There have been no reportable accidents and only 8-10 cuts and bruises • 10,000 cubic tons of concrete have gone into the building • 300,000 bricks have been used • £28m has been spent on the local economy – within a 25 mile radius of the site • 140 Birmingham City University students have had practical construction • Four students have just finished summer placements • Two Birmingham City University architect graduates are now full time Willmott Dixon employees
them, students and staff, enabling us to transform the way we teach and learn and undertake research. “This whole area is coming together and will truly become an Eastside learning quarter at which Birmingham City University will be at the heart.” Mr Owen also offered a swathe of facts about the construction of The Curzon Building: • There are around 350 operatives on site at any one time – that’s around 4.5 million staff hours over the course of the 12 month project to date
• Young people have had a combined 900 weeks of employment experience, through partnerships with the Construction Youth Trust and Budding Brunels. About the pub’s restoration: • The Eagle and Ball pub was built between 1840 and 1850 • It was known as The Moby Dick when it closed in 2007 • Its old name will be restored and the Students’ Union will become the main tenants when it reopens in 2015.
Photographic exhibition puts famous sons of Birmingham centre stage
The Curzon Building, June 2015
Celebrity chef and restaurateur Glynn Purnell joined a host of well-known Birmingham names on 11 June at BCU’s City Talk: What Birmingham means to me, highlighting a photography exhibition hosted by Birmingham City University. Photographed and curated by Birmingham City University lecturer Emma Love, the ‘Mr Birmingham’ exhibition celebrates the work and achievements of some of the city’s most celebrated personalities, including Trevor Francis, Jasper Carrott, Glynn Purnell and UB40’s Astro. Passionate about the city and its people, Emma embarked on the project as a means of showcasing some of the personalities that make Birmingham so distinctive. Glynn Purnell, Michelinstarred owner of Birmingham restaurant Purnells, said:
Glynn Purnell
“This exhibition of photography and the debate afterwards will offer a great chance to focus on just some of the ways people from Birmingham have contributed to British life. “Birmingham is a terrific and often under-recognised city and I look forward to being part of an event that will continue the work going on all across the city right now in shifting perceptions of what we have to offer.” Emma Love said: “I love Birmingham and am conscious that we Brummies are generally very humble
people, all too often unable or unwilling to celebrate how great we are. I decided I wanted to change this and decided to track down and take the portraits of men who, in a variety of ways, have achieved great things in the name of the city. “This wasn’t about promoting the personalities themselves but was and always will be about the great city of Birmingham and the amazing, diverse people who have come from here. It’s a work of love and loyalty for a place I believe is the best city in the UK.”
Inside:
Biggest Test Match Series, page 3
Law student awarded prestigious law scholarship, page 5
Graduate lands role with MTV, page 6
National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain, page 7
Student Services awarded quality mark, page 11