IT specialist Managed Enterprise Technologies (MET) has won a major contract to provide an advanced technology network communications system for the project office for The Cube, the £100 million futuristic final phase of Birmingham's Mailbox complex.
MET, which was set up in July 1998, has been awarded the work by the Birmingham Development Company, which was given planning permission on December 1 to build the stunning 17-storey mixed-use scheme.
The contract, set to run throughout the two-year development programme is estimated to be worth in excess of £100,000 and follows MET's successful involvement in a similar project for Birmingham Mailbox.
MET's consultants will provide a fully integrated range of leading edge IT services as well as the management and delivery of quality support through a single point of contact across a wide variety of IT infrastructures.
The service will include a combination of in-house skills and resource via their helpdesk operation and the deployment of specialists on site.
Their first task has been to set up an onsite project office enabling the construction team - including architects, surveyors and building engineers - to coordinate their activities and start work.
A key feature is the inclusion of MicroStation, Bentley's flagship product, which is already widely regarded as the architecture, engineering and construction industry's most powerful software platform
Ian Vickers, managing director of MET, who is based in Graham Street, Birmingham, said: "System and networks performance is increasingly critical to an organisation's success.
"We are delighted that our ability to provide the latest technologies and highest levels of managed services support is enabling us to continue our association with The Mailbox development."
Alan Chatham, director of Birmingham Development Company, added: "The Cube will be an exceptional building in Birmingham and as such we want to work with forward thinking companies who are aligned with setting new standards for services."
Work on the new building is scheduled to start next spring.
The Cube has been designed by internationally renowned architects MAKE, also commissioned for the new Digbeth Coach Station.
Led by Ken Shuttleworth, formerly of Foster and Partners, the design team has created a 17-storey cube aimed at providing a spectacular contrast to the increasing number of towers on the Birmingham cityscape.
Inside, a stunning open atrium which twists as it climbs the height of the 450,000 sq ft building will be lined with coloured glass and combined with an exterior clad in shimmering metallic fret-work, the building has visible links to Birmingham's heritage in engineering and jewellery manufacture.
Uses for the mixed-use building include the city's first rooftop restaurant, plus a boutique hotel and residential apartments with internal views over the twisting atrium. Further down, high specification Grade A office space is planned with more exclusive retail and waterside restaurants at the base.
Transforming what is currently a predominantly derelict site adjacent to The Mailbox - The Cube is expected to
encourage new investment into the area of the city, much as The Mailbox triggered a myriad of residential developments in and around the area after opening in late 2000.
The building is to be located between The Mailbox cafe bars and restaurants, Washington Wharf apartments, Commercial Street and the Birmingham Worcester canal. ..SUPL:
