Key handover opens the doors for the future of brownfield regeneration
The National Brownfield Institute (NBI) has reached another milestone with partners taking delivery of the keys to the new building on the University of Wolverhampton’s flagship £120 million Springfield Campus.
On Monday 24 January, The National Brownfield Institute (NBI) reached another milestone as ISG handed over keys to the new building on the University of Wolverhampton’s flagship £120 million Springfield Campus regeneration project – another step closer to opening the doors for the future of brownfield regeneration.
Procured through the influential Pagabo Major Works framework, the ‘shovel-ready’ project benefited from £14.9million of funding from the Government’s Get Building Fund for the West Midlands. ISG was awarded the contract to build the NBI on the construction super campus, with work starting in April 2021. The £17.5million research centre, designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects, received planning approval in December 2020.
The NBI will be a world-class institute that provides the facility to develop modern methods of building through innovation and partnership with the construction industry, focusing on the practical application of future brownfield regeneration and remediation through the work of research teams, leading policy development and commercial services.
The new Institute will also identify and look to address gaps in current provision, with a particular focus on the digital skills needed to transform the industry, bringing together expertise from across the region and further afield with greater focus on construction design, Building Information Modelling (BIM), off-site, modular construction, and lean construction methodologies.
The NBI will secure the City of Wolverhampton's position as a leader internationally in sustainable construction, circular economy and brownfield development and will deliver new skills, jobs and opportunities for local people in the city, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.
"The NBI will be at the heart of a West Midlands Construction Training Offer – providing the industry with the skills needed both now and in the future. As well as being at the forefront of a transformation of the way we will build homes and communities, it will also ensure that we learn from research around the world on modern construction and remediation technique."
Professor David Proverbs, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University
"The University of Wolverhampton’s masterplan for the Springfield Campus has not only proved transformational for this underused brownfield site, but is similarly inspiring future generations of talent making a career in the built environment sector. "
Wayne Flannery, Regional Director
Wayne continued: "Learning and researching advanced construction approaches and methods in outstanding buildings, that are themselves exemplars of the very best of our industry, is something that we are exceptionally proud to have delivered in partnership with the university."
The 12-acre Springfield Campus is already home to the Thomas Telford University Technical College, Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills and the recently opened £45 million School of Architecture and Built Environment, also delivered by ISG.
These facilities, combined with the NBI, will lay the foundation for the delivery of a National Centre for Sustainable Construction and Circular Economy, which will focus on sustainability and the climate change emergency.
Alongside ISG, the NBI project team included the University’s Estates & Facilities Team, Pagabo, Associated Architects, CPW, Faithful & Gould, Delta Planning, Atkins and MACE.