Students join innovative infrastructure project to build a massive scale model of the University of Birmingham's iconic campus clock tower.
Civil Engineering students at the University of Birmingham worked together to build a five-metre-tall, scale model of the iconic Old Joe clock tower as part of a new student-centred initiative during the University’s Welcome Week.
The Big Brum Build (BBB) took place on campus in the National Buried Infrastructure Facility (NBIF) with 15 students constructing the structure from scratch as part of a five-day collaborative project.
The build recreated Old Joe using a large-scale stainless-steel system featuring a brick-slip façade - thin sections or slices of brick attached to an underlying panel – helping to immerse the students in an experience based on real-life engineering practices.
Taking part provides a unique opportunity for students to put their theoretical knowledge into practice to construct a large-scale build - through teamwork, planning, project management, and working with various tools and equipment. It also provides experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team to manage a project, overcome challenges and deliver on time.
We see the Big Brum Build as the launch of an exciting opportunity that can grow in future years and become a distinctive part of the University’s Civil Engineering student experience. The project represents a new way of using NBIF - bringing students into a facility internationally recognised for its research capabilities and using it as an environment for educating and training the next generation of engineers.
Academic experts from the University of Birmingham and engineers from Engineering and Project Management services company AtkinsRéalis – including Birmingham graduates – designed the model of the clock tower that dominates the campus skyline.
The design used a modular, construction system that allows the clock tower to be dismantled, stored and re-used by future students' teams. This project is one of several initiatives between the University and AtkinsRéalis designed to give students real-life workplace experience during their studies, thereby improving their employment prospects.
Professor Asaad Faramarzi, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, said: “We see the Big Brum Build as the launch of an exciting opportunity that can grow in future years and become a distinctive part of the University’s Civil Engineering student experience.
“The project represents a new way of using NBIF - bringing students into a facility internationally recognised for its research capabilities and using it as an environment for educating and training the next generation of engineers.”
The NBIF is a ‘one of its kind’ facility for research, education and training. Among other areas its work focusses on buried infrastructure-ground interaction, soil stabilisation and improvement, geophysical sensing, pipeline detection and condition assessment, tunnelling, trenchless technologies and infrastructure testing.
Students and staff with completed Old Joe model
The initiative is made possible through the Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor (VP) scheme, which enabled the University to build a strong partnership with AtkinsRéalis.
Dr Matt Peck, AtkinsRéalis Director of Innovation, sponsor for this project, and RAEng VP in the Department of Civil Engineering said: “This project is a fantastic example of the type of multi-disciplinary working that modern civil engineering calls for.
"It will give the students valuable experience that will both inform their studies and better prepare them for when they come into the workplace. The University should be proud of its students. Their approach to this whole task has been impressive especially given the limited time allowed for the project to be completed.”
Student creating brick slip panel
Dr Mehran Eskandari-Torbaghan, who is hosting the RAEng VP, said: “Giving our Civil Engineering students the opportunity to apply their learning through hands-on, real-world activities is an important part of developing their technical confidence, teamwork, problem-solving skills and employability.”
Civil Engineering students Aisha Ganimusa and Maya Hopkins said: “It was a unique and eye-opening opportunity that gave us first-hand insight into the realities of working on site. We developed our time management and problem-solving skills while tackling challenges together, as well as learning about practical construction logistics we wouldn’t normally encounter until entering the industry. We’re grateful to the technician team and everyone else who supported us and took part throughout.”
Civil Engineering research at the University of Birmingham supports core themes of Geotechnics, Structures, Fluids, Transport, and Resilience and Sustainability. The Research Excellence Framework, the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, shows that Birmingham is ranked in the top 10 for Engineering research in the UK.
The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (Old Joe) stands in Chancellor's Court at the University. At around 100 metres tall, it is officially recognised as the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. Designed by architects Sir Aston Webb and E. Ingress Bell, its design was modelled after the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy.
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The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.
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Head of Civil Engineering
Staff profile for Professor Asaad Faramarzi
