Info

Client: Empiric Student Property

Date: The Emporium, Birmingham

Date:

The Emporium, Birmingham

The mixed use development primarily provides a 178 bedspace purpose-built student accommodation within a high-rise 15-storey tower and seven listed buildings – formerly the Christopher Wray Lighting Factory including a row of 18th Century Townhouses. Other uses within the development include Ground Floor leisure / food and drink units, office accommodation and a Ruin Bar.

The design required a sympathetic approach to the interior solutions and junctions between old and new where contemporary high-quality student accommodation sits unashamedly next to the Grade II* listed building. Modern materials complement and contrast with the original rich red brickwork.

Existing architectural features are preserved and exploited to maximise their aesthetic quality and provide varied and unique spaces for residents to live and study in. This extends to the communal spaces where an industrial approach was taken to celebrate the listed building’s heritage providing intriguing curious spaces to preserve the site’s history for years to come.

Photography: C-Zero