Arup partners with Overbury to create its fourth largest office in Birmingham City Centre

Started in January and delivered in partnership with fit-out specialists Overbury, the fit-out project brings to life plans which will see Arup push the boundaries of intelligent building design and sustainable fit-out options

This office will play a significant part within the Arup ambition to reach Net Zero Carbon target by 2030. Working closely with developer MEPC, One Centenary Way will be the first building in the Paradise development with all-electric heating. Overbury will install a suite of SMART sensors to enable dynamic monitoring and future learning around utilisation, comfort, and energy use in workspaces throughout the office. To minimise embodied carbon of the fit out, a natural and recycled material pallet will be incorporated into elements of the design, such as carpets, paints, and internal aesthetics.

As the first international building standard to focus exclusively on human health and wellness in the built environment, the office will achieve WELL^TM Building Platinum Certification; further enhancing Arup’s commitment to its own employees providing additional workspaces to support neurodiversity, wellbeing, and inclusivity. Understanding the future office need to compete with the highly personalised home working arrangements, a variety of workplace settings, social areas, wellbeing areas, creative spaces and focus zones will be provided.  To align with Arup core values, additional bike storage, lockers and shower facilities will also be installed to support active travel and overall wellbeing.

The fit out also includes a dedicated café with an invitation to local social enterprises to operate the café in partnership. A flexible open-plan gallery ground floor space will give Arup a shop window to introduce the diverse Birmingham communities to Arup and engage with them in knowledge sharing and innovation whilst supporting the wider city region arts, culture, and education.

Andrew Wood, Managing Director, Overbury says: “We are proud to be working with Arup on an adaptable workspace designed in a sustainable way which reflects the company’s core values. We look forward to playing our part in creating this global hub for flexible working and collaboration in the heart of Birmingham.”

Rob Groves, Regional Development Director of MEPC, development and asset manager of Paradise says: “We are very pleased to be able to continue our relationship with Arup, building on the opportunity to share knowledge and insight around better ways of working and achieving social value for the Paradise development.”

Arup will operate from their new home at One Centenary Way in Birmingham’s Paradise development in late summer 2023.