Birmingham City University Unveils Sustainable Refurbishment of Benjamin Zephaniah Building by Overbury

Birmingham City University’s Education and Teacher Training provision has a new home following a high quality, sustainability-focused fit out from Overbury.

The £11m refurbishment of Benjamin Zephaniah Building on the university’s City Centre campus was led by the specialist contractor, with the scheme covering five floors and incorporating teaching spaces and social study areas for students.

The scheme has been designed with sustainability in mind and has been delivered to a tight programme around the university’s academic year, with Overbury working in partnership with Associated Architects on the design from RIBA Stage 0 through to delivery.

Following a competitive tender process that concluded in January, Overbury worked with the university’s initial design brief to deliver the main scope of works, which also included specialist teaching spaces for science, design and textiles, and the arts.

The improvements at Benjamin Zephaniah Building, formerly University House, are part of BCU’s ongoing programme of investment in its learning spaces. With the improvements the university is making across campus – coupled with the ongoing regeneration in the wider city, including in the neighbouring Innovation Quarter – BCU’s student experience places it at a significant advantage in an increasingly competitive market.

Hazel Herbert, senior project manager at BCU, said: “The Benjamin Zephaniah Building project is a significant one for BCU as it continues to strive to ensure a great university experience for our students. Working alongside Overbury on the project was a truly collaborative experience – the team has been receptive to our needs, adaptable in the face of challenges, and, above all, communicative throughout.”

Following Overbury’s appointment, the brief was further developed through close engagement between the client, design team and fire consultants, including removing the requirement for a new staircase by adjusting the existing floorplates and escape routes.

As well as the time constraints around the university term times, the existing building’s leaking roof provided a programme challenge, with the Overbury team removing and replacing the roof to make the building watertight.

Simon Stevens, contracts manager at Overbury, said: “Having started with an outline design from the client, our big challenge was delivering the project to the high standards associated with Overbury projects around a challenging project timescale.

“This couldn’t have been done without true collaboration between ourselves and Birmingham City University (BCU) as the client. Having worked with the team previously, we were able to not only call on those existing strong relationships, but also engage with the lecturers and students as end users of the space to ensure the scheme works for everyone involved.”
The Benjamin Zephaniah Building project is the fifth major scheme undertaken by Overbury for the university, having previously delivered the fit out of the School of Jewellery, its clinical skills and simulation facilities for health courses, the Joseph Priestley Building and STEAMhouse.

As well as its fit out services, Overbury’s inhouse team also worked with the university on the furniture for the building, working closely with the wider design team to meet the broad needs of the project.

Following the completion and handover of the initial four floors, Overbury were also contracted to undertake works to the ground floor areas inclusive of the main atrium. A phased programme was created to allow completion of the atrium in time for student access at the start of 2025, with the remaining circulation spaces being handed over in April and then finally the social study and breakout spaces completing in June 2025.

The scheme was procured through Procure Partnerships, with other consultants on the project including Currie and Brown (project manager), CPW (MEP), Baynham Meikle (structural engineer), Hoare Lea (acoustician), Jensen Hughes (fire consultant) and Associated Architects (design).