Cadbury - Bournville Place

Status: 2008
Location: Birmingham

Client: Cadbury Trebor Bassett
Value: £30.0m

 

"The refurbishment and adaptation of the new corporate headquarters building is one of quality and will stand the test of time. Externally the contemporary insertion works particularly well, the quality of the brickwork is excellent, and the materials of the terrace are very pleasing. On Bourneville Lane there is no question that this is a modernist building of elegance, fitting in so well to the Conservation Rea and being particularly sympathetic to its immediate neighbours. The interior spaces are very attractive, indeed in places quite beautiful, there is no other word for it, and of course the Director’s room speaks of refinement and tradition and yet of modernity; this is in many ways one of the most significant and atmospheric rooms in the city."Chris Hargreaves, Head of Conservation

 

Unlocking the potential of an under-used 1920s building to create a world-class headquarters building with office, café and conference space

Stanton Williams were commissioned in 2003 to create a new headquarters building for Cadbury at their historic Bournville site in Birmingham. We have remodelled the 1920s Dining Block as a flagship administration centre, providing office accommodation for 700 people as well as new catering and meeting facilities. A series of sensitive interventions have unlocked the building’s potential, creating a flexible, sustainable and inspiring working environment.

We have replaced the building’s central section with a new block whose façade combines full-height glazed openings and slender brick piers to striking visual effect, substantially increasing the factory’s civic presence.

A simple stone portico gives Cadbury a ‘front door’ for their first time, while the glazing offers views to passers-by of the dramatic atrium within. The new elevation is framed by the retained end sections of the 1920s building, the materials and detailing of which are taken up in our design. Internally, the emphasis has been on flexibility, with open-plan working areas being punctuated by meeting rooms and informal social spaces.

Completed to positive reception in 2007, our design not only responds to the changing needs of a major global business but also, in offering a high-quality experience for all employees, seeks to communicate afresh the philosophy of the founding Cadbury brothers.

 

Awards
2009 RIBA West Midlands Award
2009 Civic Trust Award
2009 British Council of Offices Award, Midlands & East Anglia Award for Corporate Workplace
2009 Commended for the Non Residential UK Aluminium in Renovation Award

 

Credits
Project Manager: Atisreal Limited
Cost Consultant: Edmund Shipway
Structural Engineers: AECOM
Services Engineers: Cundall
Main Contractor: Balfour Beatty Construction
Acoustics Consultant: The Equus Partnership
Planning Consultant: Turnberry
Photography: Peter Cook and Nathan Willock