Millennium Point (Birmingham)

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For the building in the US, see Millennium Point (New York City).
Millennium Point
Thinktank Birmingham.tif
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 to Millennium Point is the Giant Screen Cinema, which extends into the complex's atrium (known as the "hub"). After a 10-year deal with IMAX ended, Millennium Point made the commercial decision to become an independent large-screen movie theater. 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 Giant Screen Cinema was closed in the beginning of 2015 with the announcement of the closure being announced on 5th September 2014 [2]

Events

File:MillenniumPointConcert.jpg
The stage is rigged ready for the 2008 concert.

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. On 19 July 2006, the screen was strengthened to withstand strong winds, but eventually it collapsed. 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.

Problems

In 2004, glass panels fell off the front of the building.[7] 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 metal barriers can be seen in the first picture on this page, though the webbing had been removed by the time the picture was taken.

Future developments

Millennium Point is set to become the "hub" of the Ventureast development.[citation needed] 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.

See also

References

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External links

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