Intercity Place
Intercity House in 2008
Former namesIntercity House
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeUniversity building
LocationNorth Road West, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 6AB
Completed1962
Renovated2014, 2020-2023
OwnerNetwork Rail
Height
Roof47.20 m (154.9 ft)
Technical details
Floor count11
Design and construction
Architect(s)Howard Cavanagh and Ian Campbell (Intercity House), MICA (Intercity Place)
Renovating team
EngineerMICA
Main contractorKier Group
Website
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/about-us/intercity-place

Intercity Place is a 11 storey building at Plymouth railway station,[1] the main rail station in Plymouth, Devon. The building was previously called Intercity House and was used as an office building.

Intercity Place has 11 stories and is 47.2 m high and is one of the tallest buildings in Plymouth (2018).[2][3]

History

Intercity House was built when work to rebuild the railway station was started by the Great Western Railway in the 1930s but was delayed due to World War II.[4] Work was restarted by British Railways in 1956 to the designs of architects Howard Cavanagh and Ian Campbell[5] as part of the post war reconstruction detailed in "A Plan for Plymouth" put forward by Sir Patrick Abercrombie at the request of Plymouth City Councillors.[6][7][8]

The modernised station, including the tower block of offices, was opened in 1962 by Dr Beeching,[9]

The building was scheduled for a major update in 2014[10] as part of a ten-year plan to improve the facilities at the station.[11]

Proposed demolition

The Heart of South West Local Transport Board published proposals to redevelop Plymouth railway station in 2017. The aim was to provide an improved 'gateway to the city' and would have included the creation of a public square in front of the station. This would have included the demolition of Intercity House.[12] This demolition never went ahead, and it was instead planned to be converted into a building for the University of Plymouth.

Conversion to University Building

In 2019 the University of Plymouth unveiled plans to renovate the building and convert it into a new teaching building, renaming it to Intercity Place in the process. The converted building will have 11 floors and an illuminated "halo" light beacon on top.[13]

InterCity Place is an integral part of a 10-year masterplan that will revitalise the University of Plymouth campus and its surrounding area.[14]

The repurposed building will provide a brand-new space to train and develop the next generation of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals from the School of Health Professions and School of Nursing and Midwifery. [15]

Providing a wide range of teaching areas, study places, cafes, and social learning spaces, the building will provide students with Inter-professional clinical skills facilities where students will experience working alongside other healthcare practitioners just as they will in their future careers.   

Network Rail will retain ownership of the building and lease it to the University for 150 years. The conversion is being worked on by construction contractor Kier Group and is scheduled to open in 2023.[16]

During the construction works a fire broke out in the building resulting in the railway station being evacuated, nobody was hurt in the incident.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Moseley, Brian (7 May 2007). "Plymouth Station (formerly Plymouth North Road Station)". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouthdata.info. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Inter-City House". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Carbuncle Cup: Beckley Point, Plymouth by Boyes Rees Architects". bdonline.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. pp. 160–162. ISBN 978-1-904-34955-6.
  5. ↑ Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 62. ISBN 9780860936855.
  6. ↑ A plan for Plymouth : the report prepared for the City Council, by James Paton Watson, L. Dudley Stamp, Sir Patrick Abercrombie, Gilbert Wooding Robertson, Plymouth City Council, Published by Underhill, Plymouth, 1943, OCLC 2659559
  7. ↑ "A PLAN FOR PLYMOUTH". Plymouth.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "A plan for Plymouth : the report prepared for the City Council : J. Watson (James Paton) : 1943 2nd ed". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "The history of Plymouth Railway Station in pictures". The Herald (Plymouth). 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Next phase of revamp of Plymouth train station begins". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "Ten-year plan for redevelopment of Plymouth Rail Station is now underway, says council". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Major Sceme Business Case: Plymouth Railway Station (PDF) (Report). Heart of South West Local Transport Board. pp. 2–3.
  13. ↑ O'Leary, Miles (1 October 2019). "New entrance to Plymouth confirmed in £100m transformation". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Campus masterplan: re-imagining the next generation campus". University of Plymouth. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "InterCity Place: facilities for health professions, nursing and midwifery". University of Plymouth. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "InterCity Place". University of Plymouth. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  17. ↑ Munday, David; Clark, Daniel; Edwards, Amber (9 September 2022). "Fire breaks out at tower next to Plymouth railway station". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
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