1979-2019: Original building

The Babbage Building was originally constructed in 1979 as an engineering facility for the University of Plymouth.^[3] Prior to being named the Babbage Building, it was called the General Teaching Block (abbreviated to GTB).^{[citation needed]}

2019-2023: Renovation

In 2019, a design competition was held for a renovation of the Babbage Building.^[2]

Planning permission was granted for the works in December 2020.^[5] The main contractor for the renovations is BAM,^[6] and the new building was designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.^[7]

In 2021, the building was closed for renovations costing £63 million. For the renovations to be able to take place, the university had to temporarily relocate classes and infrastructure to other places across the campus. The university's data center was mostly moved to the cloud as a result of the works.^[8]

The building was completely emptied, internal walls taken down, and the outer walls taken off, with only the concrete structure remaining. The renovated building has larger windows, blue cladding, and a rooftop garden. The original structure was also expanded towards the rear and right side of the building.^[9]

The newly renovated building contains 108,000 square feet (10,000 m²) of teaching and learning space,^[10] and is focused on using low carbon technologies to reduce the university's carbon footprint.^[11]

The building was due to reopen in September 2023,^[4] but was delayed and officially opened on Saturday 18 November 2023.^[12]

Some time after the works, the university has stated that the nearby Brunel building will be demolished and turned into a park when all of its functions have been moved into the Babbage building.^[1]