design solutions


Good design can increase student rooms sustainably


Aaron Taylor, Principal and Education Lead at architectural practice, Stantec, discusses how the UK higher education sector can learn from US models of student accommodation to create more sustainable and affordable high density developments


A


S student populations continue to rise,


one of the pressure points for higher education institutions is ensuring that there is enough high


quality, purpose-built accommodation to attract candidates to campus. For many universities, part of that challenge is the availability of development land to construct affordable student accommodation and this is a particular pressure point for city-based campuses where plots are expensive and hard to come by.


The obvious solution is to adopt a strategy of creating high density student living developments that minimise the build costs for each unit and maximise the footprint of the site. But this strategy must be delivered in a way combines a quality living experience and lower rentals, which requires a creative approach to design and a focus on sustainability to maximise the lifespan and the operational costs of the asset. As a global architectural practice, Stantec has the opportunity to adopt and adapt learnings from the education sector around the world. Our US colleagues’ work on student accommodation for the University of California, Davis, (UC Davis) has provided some interesting insights


into how high density student accommodation can deliver this balance of quality, live-ability and affordability, while driving a sustainability agenda that is both ideologically important to generation Z and operationally beneficial to the University. Stantec’s work for UC Davis has


responded to the high benchmarks that the University has set for sustainability. The resulting 3,300 bed “The Green” development at the University’s West Village accommodation campus not only increased the original brief by 2,050 beds, but is also the largest net-zero development in the US. This has been achieved by integrating the mechanical and electrical engineering with the design process, incorporating, for example, a solar PV installation that will produce as much energy as the building consumes on an annual basis, and shared hot water and heating.


Pedestrian and cycling routes incorporated into the public realm elements of the design ensure a car-free campus, which is also central to achieving the university’s sustainability goals. Along with an integral playing field and community centre, this also helps to support student health and wellbeing. Usually when we talk about increasing the number of beds in any kind of residential development, gains are in


relatively small numbers, so almost tripling the original target at The Green at west village is a remarkable achievement. To deliver it, the design team focused on spatial efficiency, minimising the area per bed while providing functional and contemporary open-plan living and dining spaces with compact linear kitchens. Linear units maximise daylighting to increase the feeling of space and enhance accessibility within each unit, while also contributing to sustainability goals by reducing the need for electric lighting. To avoid becoming a homogenous collection of 3,300 identical units, the development has been broken down into identifiable parts using elements such as colour, signage and finishes to create individual “neighbourhoods”. Wings have been arranged to create student communities of limited numbers and circulation routes have been designed to maximise the likelihood of chance interactions between neighbours. The calibre of student accommodation has become an important selling point for many higher education institutions. Designing a high quality living experience into residences that are affordable to both build and rent provides a key point of difference.


www.stantec.com/en highereducationestates 15


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