In October 2007 Birmingham’s North West
Skills Academy was opened. The 3,270m2
College houses workshops, teaching and
learning space for construction industry and
automotive training. The building is the latest
academy by City College, Birmingham and is
the most advanced, of a series of energy
efficient academies (see School Building Issue
17, 2007). Having reduced energy demand to
a practical minimum, the next stage in the
evolution of the College’s academies was to
incorporate renewable energy into the design.
Throughout the project, the client was keen
to integrate renewable energy technologies
into the building as much as possible so that
the building could be a showcase project and
a real focal point for local community
