NEWS STUDENT ACCOMMODATION A ‘new typology’ from WilkinsonEyre


WilkinsonEyre has completed a series of buildings housing undergraduates at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology in Wiltshire. The landscaped village of modular timber housing pods, with communal amenities and a central social and learning hub, is based within the Dyson Malmesbury Campus. As well as establishing a “new typology” in student accommodation, according to the architects, the project breaks ground in the design, masterplanning and precision engineering of “truly modular prefabricated building technologies for rapid construction.” Dyson Institute of Engineering and


Technology is being hailed as a new model of learning that integrates a higher educa- tion campus into the context of commercial industry, research and development. The village will house a “new generation” of engineering students who will work along- side the Dyson Global Engineering Team and study for an engineering degree. The pioneering approach to materials and construction, and fresh thinking on student wellbeing echoes the ethos of innovation that runs throughout the campus. The village is designed to accommodate up to 50 Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology students plus visiting Dyson staff. The “living pods” are fabricated from cross-laminate timber (CLT) in a factory for rapid on-site assembly. The pods are arranged in units two to three stories high, to create a welcoming social space and an appealing addition to the campus alongside the larger industrial buildings.


Certain clusters involve some pods being cantilevered by up to three metres, “pushing the structural properties of CLT,” said the architects. The pods are also designed to harness CLT’s thermal mass, and provide high quality and energy efficient living spaces.


In terms of aesthetics, the timber has been left exposed throughout the pods’ internal spaces, including the kitchens and bathrooms, to create “warm and natural” living environments. With wellbeing as a prime design consideration, each pod has been designed with natural ventilation and large, triple- glazed windows, individually angled to give each resident a view across the campus. The


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Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology © Peter Landers


pods are clad externally with aluminium rainscreen panels, and, depending on their position within each unit, have sedum- covered roofs. Measuring 8 metres by 4 metres, each pod


has open-plan accommodation comprising an entrance zone with an adjacent shower and toilet, a central bedroom area and a work/living space, positioned to optimise the generous levels of natural light. The pods were manufactured offsite and each unit was delivered to site fully fitted with bespoke furniture and built-in storage, before being craned into position. The pods are arranged in a variety


of cluster configurations, within the crescent- shaped site, following the curve of a surrounding landscaped embankment. Each cluster consists of up to six units, including a shared kitchen and laundry space at mid entry level, and an entry area with reception and storage. To create the feel of a student village, each pod has its own front door, with lower pods opening onto landscaped gardens, and higher ones accessed by paths on curved earth ramps and stairs to the upper level. The dynamic variety of configurations


lends an “informal, residential character” to the village, said the architects. Green spaces and pathways “determine user movement through the village and mediate connec- tions between the residential accommoda- tion and the communal clubhouse – named the Roundhouse – at the centre.” The Roundhouse, designed as a


social space for students, is conceived as a freestanding, transparent and outward-facing circular pavilion. The lightweight steel structure is formed of two stacked cylinders, surmounted by an oversailing brise soleil roof. “Designed to mediate between the accommodation clusters and the wider Dyson campus, it is divided into the southern side – “transpar- ent and social,” and the northern side, which is “metal-clad and functional”. Its facilities include a café, bar, lecture hall and study space. Yasmin Al-Ani Spence, director of


WilkinsonEyre, said “We are delighted to have worked with Dyson to develop this new typology for high quality student accommodation, creating an innovative community where students can learn, work and live on site.”


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