Vita project University of Birmingham

Located on the site of the former BBC Pebble Mill Studios, the University of Birmingham’s Vita development comprises 357 high-specification, self-contained studios. Situated on Pershore Road, the 115,000 sq ft development is split into three tiered towers of four, five, and six storeys. As well as student accommodation, the buildings include bookable private dining facilities, study rooms, a gaming room, a cinema, and a gym. Construction work was completed in mid-August 2019, just in time for the start of the academic year. The overall build was managed by Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd, with an estimated cost of £26m over a three-month period.

Challenge:

Upon completion of the main build, Morgan Sindall required Polygon’s Surface Repair services to carry out repairs across the brand-new living complex.

The project covered approximately 180 accommodation plots, where minor damages such as chips and scratches are an expected part of any large-scale construction phase.

The main surfaces needing attention were internal doors and various instances of glass requiring polishing.

One of the most significant challenges was the tight deadline; the entire job needed to be finished before students moved in during the second week of August. Timing was critical, and delays were not an option.

Solution:

We deployed a team that averaged two finishers on-site per week, though this number varied depending on the workload, fluctuating between one and four operatives.

The team took on the task of repairing all visible damage within the accommodation units, focusing primarily on internal doors and glass surfaces.

To meet the intense deadline, the repair team worked weekends, ultimately delivering an impressive 60 days’ worth of work within a tight three-month schedule, ensuring everything was completed ahead of time. In total, more than 1,400 individual repairs were completed across the project.

Outcome:

The project was delivered ahead of schedule, enabling students to move into fully finished accommodation as planned. Polygon’s adaptability and commitment ensured that the repairs were seamless, with quality maintained throughout despite the time pressures.

What did the client think?

Morgan Sindall, having already worked with us on the last three to four student accommodation blocks across Birmingham and Wolverhampton, once again gave great feedback on the team’s performance. They were so satisfied with the results that they recommended Polygon to two other companies working on the site.