Student Living
Creating enriching community environments for living, study, rest and play.
The Foundry Courtyard
Breathing new life into a city heritage site
The Foundry Courtyard is located on the site of a once famous cast-iron foundry. Accommodation is focused around a central landscaped, secure urban courtyard. The built form creates a traditional urban streetscape in a previously disparate and fragmented location.
The design strategy was welcomed by Glasgow planners as a positive step in the transition from industrial to residential neighbourhood. A broad and varied portfolio of accommodation has been created providing 536 bed-spaces from studios to 3,4,5 and 6 bed cluster flats, all supported by on-site gym, laundry, cinema room, social lounges, gaming areas, study spaces, reception and management suite. Externally, an urban gym, trim trail and MUGA with basketball hoop have been integrated into a tight and compact environment, creating a lively and genuinely animated sense of place.
Holyrood North Postgraduate Student Accommodation
High density masterplanning in an urban context
This award-winning development builds a new neighbourhood combining nearly 1200 beds for student living with fully integrated community outreach, teaching, café and retail spaces.
Appointed as design team lead and architect, the aspiration for a unique, innovative and world-class approach to residential accommodation and amenity space in an educational setting was successfully delivered. The themes of privacy for study, coming together through informal and chance encounters to more formal gatherings were key to design.
The project provides contemporary buildings with exciting and responsive urban spaces that establish a cohesive community feel in the heart of the University’s Holyrood campus.
Awarded:
RIAS Presidents Award for Placemaking
Scottish Home Awards Student Housing Development of the Year
Scottish Design Awards Regeneration Award
Scottish Property Awards Student Accommodation Development of the Year
Property Week Student Accommodation Awards Best UK Student Residencies Hall Award
Scottish Government Design Awards Place Award
Manderston Street Student Accommodation
Student housing with a historical twist
The transformation of this former mill into boutique-quality purpose built student accommodation exemplifies creative reuse and adaptation within a vibrant conservation area, all while preserving its historical fabric and heritage.
The starting point is a redundant bingo hall, formerly a cinema and industrial mill. Historical fragments are retained and creatively repurposed, augmented with bold contemporary additions that elevate, invigorate and integrate the surrounding streetscape.
The design strategy carefully carves out the building’s non-listed interior, retaining the perimeter walls and elevations. Bespoke apartments are then arranged around a central courtyard space that brings distinctive identity and focus to the PBSA development.
It celebrates the unique identity of the building while delivering high density, thermally efficient urban residential apartments within.
Sugarhouse Close
Unlocking a historical industrial quarter
Located within a UNESCO Edinburgh Old Town World Heritage Site, original redundant brewing buildings were sensitively remodelled to provide student accommodation in both studio and cluster flat format. Completely new blocks were constructed alongside using a sympathetic palette suitable for its unique historical location.
The project inserted a highly efficient and commercially astute development within the fragments of Edinburgh’s redundant brewing heritage bringing permeability and public realm to a previously landlocked industrial quarter. The new buildings were made visible from a new Courtyard and Close, unlocking key routes and previously unseen vistas.
The project won design and planning awards and is regarded as an exemplar urban design project by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Awarded:
Scottish Design Awards Regeneration Award
Scottish Government Awards for Quality in Planning
Chancellors Court
A flagship, multi-use under-graduate residence
This development was the University’s original flagship and largest under-graduate student residence, providing state of the art accommodation.
The development, named after the Chancellor of the University, the Duke of Edinburgh, was created following the demolition of two outdated blocks.
The development, handed over in three phases was a ground breaking design incorporating large bedrooms in a cluster arrangement, which could be altered to provide twin or double bed accommodate for use as holiday or business lets out with normal term time.
