LEWIS and Hickey (L&H), leading architects in the student accommodation sector, is boosting its expertise in the West Midlands – by delivering nearly 3,000 rooms at two university schemes in Birmingham and Coventry.
Following a successful OJEU tender bid, L&H was appointed as lead consultant for the £120 million redevelopment of Aston University’s student accommodation campus in Birmingham city centre. In Coventry, L&H has recently completed phase one of a £17 million project for The University of Warwick.
The Aston scheme has now entered phase two and has seen a second iconic 18-storey tower revealed over the Birmingham skyline. With its striking terracotta exterior and zinc ‘fin’, it mirrors a similar 18-storey tower completed in phase one.
Said to be Aston’s largest regeneration project in its history and one of the biggest regeneration projects in the Midlands, the scheme when complete will provide state- of-the art student facilities. It will deliver a total 2,400 en-suite rooms with retail units, management suite and elevated sports pitch. The scheme also uses latest green technologies including wind turbines on the tower roofs.
Kevin Smith, project director at L&H, said: “Scaffolding is currently being removed to reveal a second new tower for the first time. It overlooks James Watt Queensway adjacent to the existing Stafford block tower
“This scheme is in three phases so that full occupation could be maintained during the build process. Just over half the rooms – 1,300 – were opened in phase 1 of the development in 2010 with the remainder in the second stage to be complete next year.”
The buildings on the site have been arranged to create a ‘wall’ around a large landscaped park. The two 18-storey towers which can be seen across the city feature terracotta which fits in with nearby Victorian buildings. The architects have also used zinc, render and glass on the two iconic towers.
The project will deliver 2,400 en-suite rooms with associated facilities, housed in new landmark buildings arranged around a green oasis on the edge of Birmingham’s busy city centre.
As lead consultant, L&H was responsible for defining the brief with Aston University, establishing agreed feasibility and design stage proposals prior to submitting a cost tested detailed planning application to Birmingham City Council. In addition to the architectural design of the building, L&H has also provided interior design services to suite the demands of Aston University and its residential students.
Both phases of the redevelopment have achieved BREEAM scoring of Excellent, and police ‘Secured by Design’ accreditation.
In addition to the Aston development, L&H has recently completed phase one of a £17 million project for The University of Warwick which is located on a greenfield site within the university’s Coventry campus. The scheme forms part of the university’s development masterplan to be implemented over the coming decade.
L&H was selected by construction company Shepherd Construction to be part of its bid delivery team for the project and the scheme was awarded following a competitive dialogue tender under OJEU.
The four-storey student accommodation scheme provides 527 en-suite bedrooms arranged in nine, ten and twelve bed cluster flats and includes tutor apartments, deputy warden’s flat and warden’s house. The scheme has successfully achieved the BREEAM Excellent rating which was required based on the multi-residential 2008 guidelines.
Nick Riley, board director of L&H, said: “These are two major student accommodation schemes we have helped to deliver and continues our portfolio of student accommodation across the West Midlands area.
“Having seen a number of our other student living projects complete over the last few months, we have delivered over 11,000 student bedrooms now. This gives us a leading position as architects in the sector, which enables us to demonstrate to clients that our diverse experience adds tangible value to projects.
“The sector remains strong, with over £800 million of capital put into student accommodation in 2011. L&H continue to work with many universities, private developers and construction companies across the UK.”
