Property


Sector Focus


New life for Old Gym


The ‘Old Gym’ on the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus has been given a new lease of life after being refurbished to create a lecture theatre and study spaces. The building, built between 1939-


41 by Peacock and Bewlay, was still in use as a gym when it was earmarked for demolition as part of the University of Birmingham’s masterplan. Its usage was reassessed, and


the demolition application removed. A project was launched to determine whether it could be refurbished economically, keeping some of the original features. The project’s construction and


refurbishment was undertaken by Willmott Dixon and Birmingham- practice Associated Architects.


Now complete, The Old Gym has provided 265 student spaces, an 81-seater, tiered lecture theatre and 90 open-plan desks across four floors, with meeting rooms and consulting pods on the two upper floors.


Original features include seven


steel Crittall windows, which were designed to open out onto a lawn. Warren Jukes, director,


Associated Architects, said: “The building is not just interesting for its architecture. It was built under the supervision of Albert Davis Munrow, the University’s first director of physical education, a full-time position established in 1939 in order to set up a scheme of physical education as an integral part of the university curriculum.”


April 2019 CHAMBERLINK 81


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