An active permeable and well designed student village has turned a student accommodation brief into an urban design success.
The design is focused around a large, well protected courtyard space. A hierarchy of formal and informal gathering spaces includes the common room and pool/barbecue area, the common stairs, individual apartment living areas and finally the private bedroom study space.
The external south facade has a series of protruding windows designed to look up and down the street for safety.
The internal elevations spring to life with colour, texture and overlapping layers, creating a low scale stepping dado to the courtyard.
Precast walls and hollow planks (Delta Core) were used for speed of erection and quality of finish. The walls and floors also contribute to the thermal mass designed to maintain more constant internal temperatures.
The quality and durability of the finishes were paramount. The buildings are to be handed back in new condition after a 45 year concession. All furnishings and fit out follow the same requirements. Finishes selected from raw concrete stairs to cesar stone kitchen benches had this durability in mind.
Traffic servicing and maintenance access is to code but has been discreetly handled with the pedestrian character of the series of courtyards maintained.
These powerful buildings represent a significant shift in thinking in student housing at a contractual, architectural, construction and operational level.