The Tea Factory Shortlisted for IStructE Structural Awards 2026

BWB Consulting are proud to announce that The Tea Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham, has been shortlisted for the Institution of Structural Engineers’ prestigious Structural Awards 2026.

The landmark adaptive reuse project has transformed Birmingham’s historic former Typhoo Tea factory into a sustainable new BBC broadcast centre, while providing the catalyst for the wider regeneration of Typhoo Wharf.

The Tea Factory is one of just 34 projects from 15 countries to make the 2026 Structural Awards shortlist, selected from almost 100 entries worldwide. BWB Consulting is officially recognised by IStructE as the project’s Structural Designer, with the shortlist celebrating engineering excellence across four areas: Planet, People, Process and Profession.

For BWB, the recognition is particularly significant because the structural engineering solution sits at the heart of what makes The Tea Factory possible: giving a century-old industrial building a new purpose while retaining as much of its existing structure, character and embodied carbon as practicable.

Bringing a Birmingham landmark back to life

Located on Bordesley Street in Digbeth, The Tea Factory forms the first phase of Stoford’s wider Typhoo Wharf regeneration.

Stoford has led the transformation of the historic site in partnership with The Gooch Estate, with the project funded by Aviva Investors on behalf of its Lime Property Fund and supported by Birmingham City Council.

The approximately 84,000 sq ft Tea Factory will become the BBC’s new Birmingham home, providing studio, office and supporting accommodation for around 700 employees working across television, radio and digital production.

The result demonstrates what can be achieved when an ambitious client, engineering team, designers and contractors share a commitment to finding a new future for existing buildings rather than defaulting to demolition.

A reuse-first approach to structural engineering

Central to BWB’s structural engineering strategy was a simple question: how much of the existing building could we responsibly retain?

Rather than treating the century-old structure as a constraint, our engineers approached it as an asset.

The original Tea Factory had developed over multiple periods, resulting in a complex mixture of structural forms, materials and load paths. Extensive investigation and assessment were therefore required to understand the existing structure, establish its residual capacity and determine where strengthening or replacement was genuinely necessary.

That evidence-led approach enabled more than 70% of the original steel framework to be retained.

By extending the life of the existing structure rather than replacing it wholesale, the project reduced demand for new structural materials and avoided a significant share of the embodied carbon associated with demolition and reconstruction.

Where intervention was required, BWB developed targeted engineering solutions, including structural strengthening, column enhancements, transfer structures, a new large-span roof, and measures to improve the building’s overall stability and robustness.

New braced stair and lift core towers founded on piled foundations were also introduced to improve lateral stability, enabling the retained structure to meet the demands of its new use.

Collaboration at the heart of Typhoo Wharf

The shortlist recognition belongs to a wider project team whose collaboration has been fundamental to the successful transformation of The Tea Factory.

Working alongside client and developer Stoford, the project has been delivered in partnership with The Gooch Estate, with Aviva Investors funding the development on behalf of its Lime Property Fund.

BAM delivered the project as principal contractor, with Howells responsible for the concept design and BDP taking the architectural design through delivery. The wider professional team includes Grant Associates as the landscape architect, Engineering Services Consultancy (ESC) for M&E design and Arcadis providing project management and quantity surveying services.

BWB provided structural engineering alongside civil and infrastructure engineering and transport planning expertise.

Together, the team has demonstrated how close collaboration between developers, investors, engineers, designers, contractors, local government and occupiers can unlock some of the most challenging regeneration opportunities in our cities.

A catalyst for the regeneration of Digbeth

The significance of The Tea Factory extends well beyond the existing building.

Typhoo Wharf occupies a strategic gateway between Digbeth, Birmingham city centre and the future HS2 Curzon Street station. Stoford’s wider plans will transform the surrounding former industrial land into a new mixed-use neighbourhood, with new homes, workspace, hospitality and public realm reconnecting the site with Birmingham’s canal network.

The arrival of the BBC adds further momentum to Digbeth’s emergence as one of the UK’s leading creative districts and demonstrates the confidence being placed in the area’s long-term future.

For BWB, being shortlisted for the Structural Awards recognises not only the technical engineering behind The Tea Factory, but the contribution structural engineering can make to heritage, sustainability and regeneration.

George Isles, Property Divisional Director at BWB Consulting, said:

“Being shortlisted for a Structural Award is fantastic recognition for everyone who has contributed to The Tea Factory.

“What makes this project particularly special is the ambition shown by Stoford from the outset. Instead of seeing the existing building as something standing in the way of development, the team recognised the value in its history, structure, and place within Digbeth.

“That gave us the opportunity as structural engineers to really interrogate the building, going far beyond a simple “load balance” approach and using detailed materials testing and first principal analysis to maximise retention and minimise strengthening works to just 10% of the original structure.  Retaining around 70% of the original building and allowing new structure to be integrated while creating a structure capable of supporting the complex highly loaded requirements of a modern BBC broadcast centre is something the whole team can be incredibly proud of.

“It is a great example of what collaborative, reuse-led engineering can achieve and of how our profession can help clients unlock difficult sites while preserving the character and embodied value that already exists.”

The Structural Awards are organised annually by the Institution of Structural Engineers and celebrate outstanding structural engineering from around the world.

The winners of the 2026 Structural Awards will be announced in London on 6 November 2026.