34 | FEATURE | BUILDING 4 EDUCATION
All in it together
A project to create a new accommodation complex for Chelsea College of Art & Design is giving students the chance to collaborate with developers. Rebecca Dean explains the benefits of this approach
T
he redevelopment of a derelict filling station in London’s Stratford High Street will provide useful
lessons on collaboration for developers and educationalists alike. Alumno Developments, with its recently approved plans to transform the site into a thriving student complex and arts centre by 2016, are collaborating with interior design students from Chelsea College of Art & Design in a new way that offers real benefits for all parties. A total of 48 students in 10 design
teams will play a hands-on role in the development of their accommodation and facilities in Stratford. This will be the third time that the college has worked closely with specialist student accommodation developers Alumno. According to the London Legacy Development Corporation’s Quality Review Panel, this particular project “has the potential to become an exemplar for the design of student accommodation”. “Our projects with Alumno have been
a great success,” says Tomris Tangaz, course leader of FdA interior design at
Chelsea, whose students will again be working with Alumno. “They show how education and industry can work together for mutual benefit.” Following a successful pilot link-up with
the Chelsea College, Alumno worked closely with them on the ambitious redevelopment of the former Southwark Town Hall into a complex with student accommodation, a publicly accessible theatre and café, and artists' studios. When completed later this year, this development will provide light and spacious modern bedroom accommodation for 152 students, plus generous and adaptable communal areas. It will also feature a large shared common room/study area opening up a dramatic 360-degree skyline view from the roof. As around 120 students will eventually
be housed there, Alumno was keen to have representation from this group. Working with Chelsea students to develop the interior was their innovative way of achieving this. There was an initial on-site briefing for students and their lecturers, covering key elements such as appreciation of historical context, sensitivity to community, needs of students and mixed-
use tenancies. Then, Alumno architects Jestico and Whiles and representatives from the college laid down a challenge to the students to come up with design concepts for the interiors of the roof-top common room, café and ground-floor entrance. “The students went away and worked
in groups to replicate professional design teams,” explains David Campbell, Alumno’s managing director. “We were really impressed with their ideas, which were very varied. Some focused on the exterior use, others on the interiors. Some were very conceptual, others had thought through construction details. Some had stunning visual images, while others relied on models or verbal explanation. The best of these will be incorporated into the interior design of the new buildings to provide facilities that closely match the needs and tastes of our prospective users.” Tomris, head of the Chelsea course,
comments: “We have worked with a number of voluntary and community bodies in the past but we were keen to have a relationship with a developer where the emphasis on the project was more commercial and in line with professional practice – we’ve found
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