University scheme will expand 1970s stop and include new pedestrian bridge to campus
Associated Architects has lodged plans to transform the railway station that serves Birmingham University. Work is expected to be complete in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Its proposals for the stop, on the suburban line heading south-west out of the city, include a new pedestrian bridge over the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
The practice said the new station would be built adjacent to the existing station that serves the university and would be able to accommodate approximately seven million passengers a year – double the current station’s footfall and many times more than the 400,000-a-year the 1970s stop was designed for.
Associated has worked up its plans for the building in conjunction with engineers Mott MacDonald and landscape architects Node for client the West Midlands Rail Executive.
It said the station’s concrete structural frame would be cast off-site, easing the logistical challenges of a construction project next to a live railway line.
The station’s design mixes red brick, honed and etched concrete panel and Corten weathering steel finishes.
Associated director Warren Jukes said the scheme would create a new approach to the university through a significant landscaped public space that would “interpret and incorporate” elements of a nearby Roman fort complex.
“As regular users of the current University Station, we’re delighted to have designed its replacement – a high-quality station befitting its significance as a gateway to the surrounding university, life-science and hospital sites,” he said.
“Our design responds to the complex brief and unique setting and is focused on delivering an outstanding passenger experience.”
Associated said it hoped work could commence on the station in 2021, subject to approval from Birmingham council.
Birmingham University is due to host hockey and squash events for the Commonwealth Games.
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