Ground broken at University of Wolverhampton's brownfield institute

Building contractor, ISG, has broken ground on the site which is located on the University of Wolverhampton’s £120m Springfield Campus.

The research centre, designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects, received planning approval in December.

The project, itself taking place on a regenerated brownfield site – the former Springfield brewery - directly addresses the government agenda of circular economy focusing on the challenges of building new homes and cohesive communities sustainably.

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,modular construction and lean construction methodologies.

The scheme has benefited from £14.9m from the Government’s Get Building Fund for the West Midlands. City of Wolverhampton Council worked closely with the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and West Midlands Combined Authority to secure the funding. The remainder of the funding required is set to come from the city’s Towns Fund award.

Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor at the university, said: “We’re delighted that this project is moving at a fast pace and we are already marking the beginning of work on site.

“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.

“It will be a working model for brownfield remediation and new construction techniques that can be implemented regionally and nationally and exported around the world, building on existing expertise offered on site through the West Midlands Construction UTC, the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills and the new School of Architecture & Built Environment.”

Professor Mohammed Arif, head of the school of architecture and built environment at the university, said: “The needs for the construction sector require us to seriously look at the abandoned brownfield sites all over the country which come with their own challenges.

“The NBI will help as a catalyst in utilisation of brownfield sites and provide developers with advice and knowledge in relation to areas such as building scanning, soil analysis, ground water contamination and ground stabilisation to effectively bring those sites back into use.

The NBI will be completed by February 2022.