| Intercity Place | |
| Former Names: | Intercity House |
| Location: | North Road West, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 6AB |
| Status: | Complete |
| Completion Date: | 1962 |
| Renovation Date: | 2014, 2020-2023 |
| Ren Engineer: | MICA |
| Ren Contractor: | Kier Group |
| Website: | https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/about-us/intercity-place |
| Building Type: | University building |
| Roof: | 47.2m (154.9feet) |
| Floor Count: | 11 |
| Architect: | Howard Cavanagh and Ian Campbell (Intercity House), MICA (Intercity Place) |
| Owner: | Network Rail |
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]
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]
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.
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]