The financial model for student housing often comes down to a straightforward cost-return calculation — simply put, it’s profitable when built efficiently. Bennie entrusted me with the challenge of achieving this balance: constructing affordably while maintaining the essence of the place. Embracing off-site production, we designed the buildings with flexibility in mind, allowing for both lateral and vertical expansion, ensuring the accommodation could adapt over time if demand for traditional student housing were to decrease.
The accommodation was laid out in linear blocks constructed from prefabricated timber units. These blocks lined the canal and the main road before curving inward to form a new main entrance court, linking the old and new developments. The building wrapped around an internal courtyard, with a central view of the preserved factory chimney. On the inner face of the structure, we added a network of public pathways, stairs, and elevators — a vertical piazza. South-facing metal ‘stoop’ structures provide areas where students can gather and observe one another — fostering spontaneous social interaction that is often displaced in today’s digital age by social media.
In the UK, there is an undeniable need to deliver housing on a large scale. If only the country could harness its vast design talent to develop more innovative solutions for modern living.
Project images
