The Foundry, Newcastle

BRIEF

With students set to arrive in September, a brand-new accommodation facility was vital to meet demand to house over 200 students in Newcastle city centre. The footprint and location of the city centre site had to be carefully considered to avoid disruption and time certainty was essential to open in time for the start of term.

CHALLENGES

• Timeline – With student arrival in September as a key delivery date, speed and efficiency were vital to the success of the project

• Footprint – Situated in a busy city centre location, access and infrastructure needed to be carefully planned

• Quality – In a competitive student accommodation market, the building needed to have a high-quality feel to attract its student audience, with carefully considered layouts, décor and communal facilities.

SOLUTION

Working in partnership with the main contractor, we were able to manufacture and fully fit-out the accommodation whilst ground works were completed. This meant that no time was wasted in getting the building fully operational.
The five-storey, 206-bedroom accommodation block comprised a mix of 54 studio flats, 150 en-suite bedrooms and two accessible en-suite bedrooms, with high-quality shared living spaces and kitchens.

RESULTS

Due to its innovative design and expert fitting, the Foundry won the Project of the Year in the Construction News Awards 2016 – a real testament to the partnership working that went in to making this project a success.

The modern and stylish accommodation proved popular with students, providing comfortable accommodation and attractive living space, resulting in it being fully let ahead of schedule.