After our students and staff, our physical estate is the largest single enabler for our world-class teaching and research, and provides a fantastic student experience. Our estate is large and varied covering 672 acres, with over 200 buildings of different ages, complexities, physical condition and use, ranging from grade one and two listed properties to brand new state-of-the-art learning and research spaces.
The estate consists of two main campus sites (Edgbaston & Selly Oak) along with properties in Stratford-upon-Avon, Ansty (near Coventry), Coniston (in Cumbria), Ironbridge and Dubai.
Currently, our estate is in the midst of one of the most transformational campus redevelopments since the first phase of building was completed in 1909. The development programme, worth £1 billion as part of a ten-year investment, started in 2016 and is creating outstanding new facilities for students, staff and the community.
More information about our Estates Strategy
Virtual campus tour
Student Experience, Teaching and Learning
Our transformational development has already delivered a state-of-the art library, world-class sport and fitness centre and vanguard Teaching and Learning Building. Development isn’t just about creating space, it’s about reimagining how we work and the services we deliver. For example, our Collaborative Teaching Laboratory is changing the way STEM subjects are taught and we have completed our new School of Engineering, and are nearing completion on our Molecular Sciences facility, among others.
As well as evolving study and education spaces, we have invested in cutting-edge living and social spaces for our students to help to connect our vast and diverse community. This includes new accommodation facilities such as Chamberlain Hall and The Green Community. We also have beautiful, open spaces such as the Green Heart, and The Vale Village on our hedgehog-friendly campus, as well as a dedicated student hub where our students can access a range of support services if required.
World-leading Research Facilities
Major research investment has been made to ensure that our facilities and resources compete on the world stage. These include the Birmingham Institute for Forest Research (BIFoR), the Institute of Translational Medicine, the Alan Walters Building and the High Temperature Research Centre (HTRC).
Another exciting new development includes the first phase of the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus. This project is due to be completed in 2022 and will lead the delivery of medical innovation in the Midlands, attracting significant investment, creating high-value jobs in the region, and accelerating the development and deployment of new drugs, diagnostics and healthcare technologies to patients.
Community
Renowned as the UK’s first civic university, we are committed to investing to bring benefits to our community and to support the surrounding areas. As well as the University sports club, which is open to the public and hosts many sessions and events for our local community, the Green Heart and our wider green spaces, museums and attractions are also available for the public to enjoy and relax in on campus. We also recently opened The Exchange, the former Municipal Bank in the city centre’s Centenary Square, which now houses a diverse range of activities, including exhibitions, talks, workshops and seminars; as well as providing dedicated facilities for collaboration and co-creation, for all the people of Birmingham and beyond to be involved with.
We also strive to provide excellent facilities and services for the community. For example, we opened the first stand-alone dental hospital and school to be built in the UK for almost 40 years, and more recently, the UK’s first university secondary school and sixth form college. In addition, we repurposed some of our labs and medical facilities to support the national effort during the coronavirus pandemic and opened a COVID-19 testing lab in our Medical School that works in parallel to the on-campus community testing site located at the South Gate entrance. The testing site is open to staff, students and the local community and offers testing for anyone with coronavirus symptoms.
Looking Forward
The following are major developments that are forthcoming / underway:
You can view all of the latest estates developments via our campus map, and follow news related to our campus and estates development.
Innovation
The University of Birmingham, in partnership with Siemens, will transform its infrastructure using cutting-edge technologies to make its campus one of the smartest and most sustainable in the world. To deliver the campus of the future, Siemens will evaluate a vast range of technologies in the fields of Energy, IoT and Data, Smart Transport and Smart Building Technologies, ultimately leading to the development of a Living Lab and Net Zero Carbon campus. This will result in enhanced student and visitor experience, research and teaching, industry engagement and carbon and operational cost reduction.
We aim for our entire estate to be world class for the benefit of our students and staff, and our community. This means actively working with a range of forward-thinking partners from across different sectors to identify new products, services and processes to help us transform our buildings and spaces.