Demolition starts green heart beating III

Eight days on from my last blog post and the demolition of the former Main Library at the University of Birmingham continues while in University Square 20 trees have been removed as part of the works to create the Green Heart.

The removal of the trees has created a noticeable change in the environment but is part of the transition to new green heart with an additional 160 new trees being added.  These new trees will be a mixture of semi-mature to mature, ranging from 5 - 7 metres in height.

Of the 216 trees assessed on campus, 72 were identified for removal (20 were categorised as being of moderate quality, 52 were categorised as being of low quality; including those in University Square). But, 144 trees will be retained and integrated. We will also plant 160 new trees! (https://uobgreenheart.com/2017/08/22/trees/)

The plan below, reproduced from https://uobgreenheart.com/2017/08/29/what-to-expect/, shows the tree layout for the square.

The photos below show the demolition of the former library and the square with trees removed from Wednesday 30 August 2017.

Away from the square, towards University railway station, work on the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory is underway with the new facility due to be complete in Summer 2018.  The new purpose-built facility incorporates a wet lab, dry lab and e-lab, http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/building/Collaborative-Teaching-Laboratory.aspx 

The three-storey 72,120 sq ft building will take the shape of a robust brick structure, with variation in materials and form to represent three different internal environments of the laboratories. The front of the building will be characterised by large angled brise-soleil made from gold anodised aluminium which projects over the main entrance (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/university/building/Collaborative-Teaching-Laboratory.aspx)

The images below show the site on Wednesday 30 August 2017.