IN PICTURES: Birmingham Eastside plans revealed
This is the ground-breaking vision which has formally been unveiled and could see the Eastside of Birmingham city centre transformed into a creative and cultural hub.
The images have been drawn up by academics from Birmingham City University's School of Architecture, who worked alongside Node Urban Design to mastermind the plans to create vast new areas of public space, enhance creativity and form a quarter which will support the city's thriving start-up scene.
The plans, known as the Knowledge Hub, include the creation of the STEAMhouse campus, an innovation centre aimed at driving economic growth through arts and creativity, which has been earmarked for the heart of Digbeth.
Housed next to HS2 and near the canal network, STEAMhouse would benefit from connectivity to the Eastern Corridor and facilities including Innovation Birmingham's iCentrum infrastructure.
Kevin Singh, Head of the School of Architecture and Design at Birmingham City University, said: "Birmingham City University focuses on practice-led, knowledge-based learning, providing students with real-world experience. Nowhere is this more evident that in the partnership between our School of Architecture and Design and Node Urban Design.
"Not only is the project preparing our graduates for the world of work, the Knowledge Hub campus masterplan feeds directly in to the City Council's Big City Plan, which aims to make Birmingham a world class destination over the next two decades.
"We are proud that our students, staff and alumni are working alongside industry partners to shape the economic and cultural renaissance of our great City."
A new digital screen is also planned for Millennium Point which would showcase movies and art a short walk from Digbeth which is widely recognised as the creative heart of Birmingham.
The vision continues the changing face of Birmingham's Eastside, which has already been transformed by multi-million pound investment into new buildings by Birmingham City University, which will house the proposed HS2 railway station and will see Midland Metro trams return to its streets.
The project, likely to cost several million pounds, is expected to create thousands of long and short terms jobs in the city and help support economic growth by creating an area which supports education, innovation and business.
The vision will be presented by Birmingham City Council and Birmingham City University Vice Chancellor Professor Cliff Allan to a host of investors and construction experts at the international property show MIPIM, which is held in Cannes later this month.
