Millennium Point (Birmingham)
| Millennium Point | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Mixed Use |
| Location | Curzon Street, Birmingham, England |
| Completed | September 2001 |
| Cost | 114 million Pound sterling |
| Owner | Millennium Point Trust |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Grimshaw Architects |
| Structural engineer | Buro Happold |
| Civil engineer | Ove Arup & Partners |
| Main contractor | Galliford Try |
Millennium Point is a multi-use meeting complex in Birmingham, England, situated in the developing Eastside of the city centre. The complex contains Birmingham Science Museum, Birmingham School of Acting and Birmingham City University's Faculty of Computing, Engineering and The Built Environment, part of Birmingham Metropolitan College and a Giant Screen cinema.
The complex was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 2 July 2002, although it had been in use since the previous year.
Design
Millennium Point is a Millennium Commission project, and it was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners. Construction is estimated to have cost £114 million, and £50 million funding was granted by the National Lottery.[1]
The building is constructed mainly as a cuboid, with a cylindrical offshoot holding the cinema. This annexe glows different colours at night. The front fascia is mainly glass, and is covered in long slats with the logo of Millennium Point revealed behind.
Education
The purpose of the complex is primarily educational, and as such is home to Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum. The largest tenant of the building is currently the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment - the technology faculty of Birmingham City University. The university also operates the Birmingham School of Acting on site. Faculties of Birmingham Metropolitan College, the University of the First Age and the Young People's Parliament are located in smaller units, as is teachers' network Tide~ global learning.
Leisure
A major attraction within Millennium Point was the Giant Screen Cinema, which extended into the complex's atrium. After a 10-year deal with IMAX ended, Millennium Point made the commercial decision to become an independent large-screen movie theatre. They did a renovation of the cinema, which included replacing the original silver coated IMAX screen with a brand new white 70 by 41 feet (21 by 12 m) screen that was installed through the roof. Barco 4K digital projectors, paired with Dolby Digital 3D technology were fitted along with a major update to the existing 15000w sound system. The decision was made to close the Giant Screen Cinema at the beginning of 2015 with the announcement being made on 5th September 2014. [2]
Events
Millennium Point is the location of Birmingham's annual "Christmas Lights Switch On" event.[3] The 2008 event saw fairground rides and live music, including performances by Alesha Dixon, Alphabeat and Scouting for Girls, with Lemar switching on the lights.[4] Previous events have hosted sets by Leona Lewis and McFly.
In May 2006, the atrium of the building was used to host a theatrical extravaganza, From Ithaca With Love, a modern retelling of Homer's The Odyssey, which was the launch event of the New Generation Arts Festival. Produced by Simon M. Woods and adapted and directed by Malachi Bogdanov, the event required blacking out the roof and windows and incorporated both a speedboat and Lotus car.
In June 2006, the front car park was converted into a viewing area for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including a large 6m x 10m digital screen. On 19 July 2006, the screen was strengthened to withstand strong winds, but eventually it collapsed. For safety reasons, subsequent games were shown on a smaller, temporary screen.[5]
At around the same time, and over a period of two days, 20,107 people drew around their feet on A4 pieces of paper and placed them outside Millennium Point to create the longest display of footprints.[6]
In 2008, Millennium Point hosted the Hello Digital arts festival. The focus was interactive multimedia, and numerous performances of the Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre were held.
In 2009, the Christmas Lights Switch-On was cancelled over safety concerns which resulted in the Millennium Point Concert Stampede. Larger than expected numbers turned up and were locked out of the event, due to overcrowding. Subsequently, the locked-out crowd broke down the fencing, causing a stampede, leaving dozens injured and the event cancelled.[7]
In the last few years, Millennium Point has become a hub of activity for events that have been publicised around the city. In both 2014 and 2015, Millennium Point hosted the Birmingham Independent Food Fair alongside Food Birmingham which saw a number of exhibitors descend onto the premises both inside and on the grass area outside to create a weekend celebrating local food and drink traders and what they have to offer. [8]
Adding to its growing portfolio of public-facing events, Millennium Point held the UK version of the World Barista Championship and Crowd Out - an exclusive performance by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer David Lang alongside the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
Millennium Point is a centre for education and learning, which is demonstrated by its widely-anticipated events such as the Anne Frank + You exhibition taking place in the summer of 2015 in association with the Anne Frank Trust UK.
The organisation supports growth within the Eastside area and the city as a whole. This can be seen with events such as the High Speed 2 panel discussions and Birmingham Made Me have both taken place in 2014 and 2015. [9]
The Building's Structure
In 2004, glass panels fell off the front of the building.[10] This resulted in green webbing and metal barriers being placed around one half of the building while investigations took place. The unsightly webbing stretched the full height of the building and remained in place for some time. The building has undertaken ongoing tests and thanks to continuous assessments and works carried out, continues to be a safe place to visit due to a highly-competent internal facilities and health & safety team.
Ongoing Development
As well as the building fronting the future High Speed 2 station and terminus, Millennium Point sits proudly alongside the current Eastside Locks development. The former front car park is now Eastside City Park and a replacement multi-storey car park has been built to the rear of the building fronting Jennens Road allowing ease of access for visitors to Millennium Point, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum and Birmingham City University.
See also
- Curzon Street railway station – opposite on Curzon Street
- Birmingham New Street station
References
- ↑ "National Lottery grant report". ITV Local/Birmingham City University. 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ↑ http://www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/Blog/giant-screen
- ↑ "Christmas Lights Switch On". Birmingham City Council. 2008. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2006.
- ↑ "Lemar to switch on Christmas lights". BBC Birmingham. 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2006.
- ↑ "World Cup big screen blown over". BBC News. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
- ↑ "Giant footprint stamped on Perth". The Birmingham Post. 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2006.
- ↑ "Dozens hurt in lights switch-on". BBC News. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ↑ http://www.birminghamindependentfoodfair.co.uk/
- ↑ http://www.millenniumpoint.org.uk/Pages/Events/
- ↑ "Arup probe into broken glass panels". Construction News. 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
External links
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Coordinates: 52°28′58.47″N 1°53′9.81″W / 52.4829083°N 1.8860583°W
