Client:
Queen Mary, University of London
Location:
London
Construction value:
£40,000,000
Completion:
September 2006
This scheme of 1,200 bed spaces in flats and maisonettes made Westfield Student Village the largest campus in London. The development provided two new public frontages for the University: one onto the Grand Union/Regent’s Canal alongside Mile End Park, the other against the railway track into Liverpool Street Station.
The design creates a series of spaces with distinct characters and levels of privacy. The long 8 storey building next to the railway protects the site from noise and aligns with a new college lawn opening onto the canal at its east end. The lower building with a café and bar at its base sits between the new pedestrian street and the canal, and is perforated to create views across to the park.
Half the accommodation is arranged in four storey brick buildings which line the west of the street, and form three private spaces: two U shaped courts, and one introverted wooded courtyard.
The final phase of 200 rooms was completed in September 2006. This building, Richard Feilden House, contains a cafeteria and student union fronting a new public square, establishing the connection between the student village and the university campus.
The detailed organisation of the buildings sought to offer as much variety as possible in room layouts (19 in total), to minimise any sense of institution, and avoid the all too frequent tendency for student housing to be cellular and repetitive.
2009 Civic Trust Award: Commendation
2008 RIBA National Award
2008 RIBA Client of the Year Award: Shortlist
2006 Concrete Society Award: Commendation
2005 Housing Design Award: National Award
2005 Copper in Architecture Award: Joint winner
2005 TECU European Copper Award: Runner up