In fact, there is an increasing emphasis on creating sociable spaces and our recently completed student accommodation project certainly meets these requirements.
Towering above Portsmouth Harbour, Europa House is a mere 15 minute walk to the University of Portsmouth for its student residents. The property previously served as an office block, which comprised of a 12-storey building and a three-storey annex. It has been completely transformed into a series of private studios and shared apartments, offering 242 beds in total. The all-important need to provide today’s students with communal learning and sociable spaces, has been met with the provision of a gym, a lounge, an on-site cinema and a games room, as well as numerous reading rooms and study spaces. Careful consideration has been given to the interior design and layouts, which have been decorated to a high specification in order to provide a comfortable and stylish environment for its residents.
Our client Empiric Student Property (ESP) tasked rpa:group’s Architects with carrying out an initial optimisation exercise, in order to enhance the use of the internal space. We were also instructed to design the communal interior areas in line with the ESP brand guidelines and acted as guardian architect during the entire programme of works, in order to ensure that the development strictly adhered to these.
The project was completed in September 2017, ready for the university 2017 – 2018 student intake.
