View from Tower Road
Site context
Workshop classroom
Brick and plastering workshop
1:50 model
Concept sketch
Section
Site plan
Wirral Met College
Occupying a prominent position on the water’s edge, The Built Environment, Skills and Enterprise Centre at Wirral Met College is a leading facility for the acquisition of technical skills. As part of the Wirral Waters masterplan, the college provides a local skill base to deliver the neighbourhood over the next 30 years.
Working with the College and Peel Holdings, our brief was to create an education building of its place and high architectural merit—an ‘essay in construction’. The sculptural saw-tooth profile reflects the building’s function and acknowledges Birkenhead’s historic dockland vernacular. The roof cowls add architectural accents to the roof and communicate the ventilation strategy to the students while providing a striking and clean profile in anticipation of views from future adjacent tall buildings.
Dockland materials have been re-interpreted with crisp contemporary detailing to create a building rooted in the historical character of the surrounding area and suitably robust to deal with the harsh marine environment with exterior metalwork anodised to improve its corrosion resistance. Well-designed junctions and detailing elevate the simple form and materials to something beautifully crafted, taking ordinary building materials and injecting new life into them.
The integration of Wirral Met College’s taught curriculum with the construction of the new campus was considered and maximised at each stage of the project—from briefing to construction. As such, by the end of the project, over 300 students from the college gained experience building their campus, with several taken into full-time employment by the contractor delivering Wirral Waters.
“From the initial concept, through every stage of the design process, Howells ensured that we were both involved and engaged. Their expert team really embraced the aims of our building project, ensuring lots of client liaison to include design workshops. They recognised our educational context and made sure that every aspect of the building project was used to support teaching and learning, particularly as the building is for construction skills.”
Sue Higginson, Principal and CEO of Wirral Met College
| Client | Wirral Met College | |
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| Location | Birkenhead | |
| Size | 4,000 sq m | |
| Status | Completed 2015 | |
| Awards | RIBA National Award 2016, RIBA Regional Award 2016 | |
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