Powis Place lies at a significant junction on one of the major approaches into Aberdeen, sandwiched between more established residential areas to the East and West and the suburban and city centre areas to North and South. The vacant or under-used sites at this crossroads presented a natural redevelopment opportunity and Alumno initially approached the site having high aspirations to take a leading role in its regeneration. Alumno then gave us the architectural commission and we worked closely with them as a strong team, with a shared vision, in order to achieve creative and workable solutions to a wide range of challenging issues.
In terms of urban and architectural design, it was imperative to consider 2 Powis Place as a coherent contribution to both the current condition and longer term prospects of the area. Situated roughly midway between the main campus at Old Aberdeen, and the city centre, it lends itself well to both walking and cycling and is ideally placed for student living. It has been a challenging site to develop however, with significant level changes present and space and access being severely limited by busy roads on three sides. Our
shared desire was to consolidate a fragmented urban fabric and initiate more intensive patterns of use for the area, which was arguably more demanding than simply addressing the status quo. It also prompted a more urban approach, suited to the scale and potential of the thoroughfare.
As well as ongoing dialogue with the local planning authority, we sought early community involvement during the planning stages of the project, with a public consultation event and a presentation to George Street Community Council. Some key changes which were adopted after this period included an overall reduction in the height and mass of the proposed building, which addressed local residents concerns about density; an increase in the quality of the public realm and the creation of roof terraces to maximise the proposed amenity space. We also received influential feedback from statutory consultees, in particular from Roads Projects and Waste Services who canvassed for the creation of a larger car park and refuse store space. We took these suggestions on board and accomplished them by raising the courtyard to the first floor level. This left the planned amenities for residents mostly unchanged and our proposals were warmly received by the Aberdeen Design City Review panel.
The six-storey building now accommodates nearly 200 students in a mixtureof ensuite rooms, in shared apartments, and a selection of single studios.
Aberdeen Powis Place
The architecture of the building is robust, depending largely on bold sculptural form and proportion, executed with crisp but straightforward details to achieve it’s intended character. It is built with a limited palette of inexpensive materials, selected for their visually animated texture and tone, while the steel frame structure allows for future adaptation for different uses. The form of the building naturally creates a series of flat roof terraces and, even those areas which are inaccessible to residents, have been finished in such a way as to enhance the visual amenity for anyone that overlooks them. On the corner, the building has significant bulk and presence but diminishes in scale towards Canal Road to the rear, working with the rising topography to meet the more domestic scale of areas to the north across the railway. The inflected geometry toward Fraser Place creates positive space in the urban realm.
We have endeavoured to achieve a simple, rational organisation of good quality spatial sequences both inside and outside the building. As far as possible we sought to avoid internal corridors in favour of more generous, day-lit lobby spaces that encourage interaction. This allows both ease of use, and an enjoyable route to and from the student bedrooms. By locating the main communal areas, such as the common room and reception, at street level we sought to establish a lively public presence with a fluid, visual and physical relationship with the street, as well as high quality, well appointed, carefully considered interior design and Artwork which also reflects the surrounding community. Successful, comfortable common areas, where students want to spend time, study and interact, are vital to the success of communal living on this scale.
The main entrance frontage, on Fraser Place, was also enhanced by planting a number of semi-mature clear-stem trees within the public area at the side of the building. Light from the generous open plan reception spaces leads, via a broad staircase, up into an internal landscaped courtyard garden and then via stairs to the accommodation above.
The internal landscaped courtyard provides vertical circulation – a secure and sheltered amenity at the heart of the building, away from the traffic noise of surrounding streets. It was envisaged and designed as a space for coming and going, for occasional pause or conversation, and as an overspill from internal amenity areas on brighter days. Its 3-dimensional scale and character is reminiscent of many of the courtyards and lanes found in the City of London. The courtyard has been hard landscaped with a local granite, with significant ground cover planting, while clear stem trees with translucent foliage animate the natural light within the space.
This landscaping adds significantly to its visual impact, both for ground floor users and for those overlooking it from the surrounding accommodation.
We sought a degree of permeability through it, with a main entrance from Powis Place and a secondary entrance from Canal Road. Beneath it are parking spaces for 70 bicycles, including 8 motorcycle spaces, 20 cars and a fully accessible disability space. Within this area long term cycle storage is provided by covered “Sheffield” stands which have been carefully located so as to minimise intrusion to the student bedrooms.
As the courtyard is in shaded light for part of each day, we have supplemented it by the creation of a communal roof terrace, at fifth floor level. This space is in direct sunlight for most of the day and benefits from an open aspect over the green corridor of the branch railway and the city beyond. An existing row of lime trees along the boundary on the adjacent site provides significant amenity for the neighbouring community centre while also forming a green backdrop of foliage for our development. Surface lighting is also a key part of the landscape design, used both to illuminate space and highlight features. Along with the light spill from accommodation windows, more structured uplighting within seating areas has been incorporated, creating an interesting mix of light and shadow during the evening.
The student rooms themselves are compact and efficient, providing a comfortable and stimulating base for life in the city. The surrounding streets are generally broad and open, with very little overshadowing by neighbouring buildings, and so all the rooms gain more than adequate amounts of natural light. This is further enhanced by the use of generous timber framed windows, which we decided to make significantly larger than the minimum regulatory requirements in order to promote a fresh and naturally bright internal environment. For those few rooms that are situated near pavement level, on Canal Road or Powis Place itself, we have planted raised beds in order to protect the privacy and enhance the outlook from these rooms.
Being in the city centre, the site’s location does not allow for a large number of sustainable energy sources such as ground source, wind, biomass or solar systems. Despite this we have met the regulatory carbon reduction requirements by using a combination of gas fired boilers and gas fires CHP. A building management system has been installed to control and monitor all building services systems, with all accommodation areas having local heating controls – easily monitored by independent metering . This centralised system has also been designed in such a way to allow for possible future primary connection from a Local District Heating System, which we were informed was under discussion with the local Council.
We firmly believe that the site at 2 Powis Place realises a high level of architectural ambition and is forming a very positive contribution to the urban
fabric of Aberdeen. We again had a very successful working relationship with Alumno from inception to the finishing touches, which has resulted in a building we are all very proud of.
Aberdeen Powis Place
Aberdeen Powis Place
I started here in 2017. Before that I worked in a letting agent. In my old job I didn’t really see
that many people. Being at reception you get to know the students and build up a relationship with them and that’s what I probably enjoy most about it. I realise I like working with people.
You can see how they change after they get there, especially the first years, if they’ve previously stayed at home. You can see them trying to fig-ure things out and developing a lot in the process. That’s really interesting and sometimes quite touching. Sometimes they come and tell you their problems, so I learn a bit more about them. I always try to help, even if it’s just as a listening ear. It’s an honour really, as it means you’ve earned trust and respect.
There’s a really diverse set of students. Many people come on recommendation, particularly the Chinese students; it’s difficult for them to come and have a look beforehand. Some of them book a flat together and some opt to stay in flats with different nationalities.
So a lot of students say to people back home that this is the best place. It’s one of the main
reasons we get so many bookings. Especially with international students.
I’m here all the time. It’s important to have a face for the students because they know they can always come to me, Joe, or Robyn. The parents’ main concern is safety so we’ve got keycards to get into the building and CCTV. People can’t get in without the right card and the doors close automatically, so there’s no way for unauthorised, or uninvited people to walk in.
I’d never really thought about working in student accommodation before, but now I’m in the job I do really enjoy it. I think I would like to be an assistant property manager, or even move to a
different site in the UK. Maybe Glasgow or Edinburgh. I know they’d be a lot busier and I’d enjoy that. I definitely want to stay in student accommodation.
I’m from close to Aberdeen so have some local knowledge. A girl came yes-terday and asked me to recommend a hairdresser, so I hope it meant she thought mine was ok. Wherever I work I feel I should learn about the area, as my role is partly to make people feel comfortable to come and ask about anything, and encourage them to engage with the community.
Before this I worked in retail management. I initially came here as a customer services advisor then got promoted to assistant property manager.
My colleagues and I share various tasks but viewings are one of my key roles and something I particularly enjoy. The students usually book viewings on the website, then arrive with whoever they want to. They sometimes bring friends, parents, or just come by themselves.
The first thing anyone sees, before the grand tour, is the reception area which is a very important first impression. I think the one here has got the balance just right. As a team, we really do take pride in Powis Place and that’s very important. It’s always much easier to work somewhere you really believe in. We do some social media posts to students a couple of times a day. Let them know what’s going on in the building, if there are any offers, promotions or events, and help everyone integrate with one another.
I get involved with planning who shares the flats, which is also an interesting challenge. Some people will request to be all male, or all female, or mixed. People sometimes book flats as groups of friends. We review all the applica- tions, see what people want and try to accommodate everything as much as possible. It’s really good to get people in together who don’t know each other and watch friendships grow. We try to keep it by year, so if you’re in first year you’ll be in with first years, etc. If anybody isn’t happy, or wants to change anything, whatever the issue, we try and do that for them.
They come not knowing anything about here, and leave having made friends and knowing and liking the city and the country. It’s good to feel like part of that process. I want to stay in the sector and be a property manager., having various sites. This place has inspired me to do so. Given me real pride in the sector.
It’s nice to see all sorts of people coming and getting the feel of the place and it being recognised the way it has been. The balance between private and communal space is well designed and the communal areas in particular look really good. The common room almost feels like a particularly stylish living room, with elements of a recreation space, a library and an art gallery.
Aberdeen Powis Place
MA Business Management Student
Aberdeen University
I’m from Elgin, well outside Elgin, pretty much a field outside Elgin, but Aberdeen is less than two hours away. When I lived in Edinburgh I thought I’m just staying somewhere for a bit, but I’m really settling in here.
Although my course is technically called business management, I’m doing finance as well. This ties in well, as my University has got particularly good links with the area I want to work in, so there are more opportunities than I would get in many other places. I think the finance industry will continue to grow in Aberdeen and given my experiences so far, I’d be happy to remain in the city long term.
I’ve already got a part-time job here, working in a shop in Union Street, so I’m learning to deal with all sorts of different people. Some easier than others, but I think that’s making me a more rounded person. A city is totally different from where I’m from way outside Elgin. That has its own charms, but I think the move has done me good and Powis Place has allowed me a safe way in.
The population here is really quite multi-cultural, so that broadens your knowledge and understanding of life. I think I’ll travel more widely now, because I’ve met people from around the world and become intrigued. It was an easy decision to choose Powis Place. I visited friends here last year and really liked it. I’ve been in different halls before. I was in halls in Edinburgh, then another place in Aberdeen, but these are by far the best halls I’ve ever been in.
My flatmates and I use the common room a lot. We study down here. It’s such a good common room that it also functions as our library, especially during exam time when it’s virtually impossible to get a seat in the University library. It’s really peaceful, though sometimes it busies up at night when it’s not exam time. Students have people over for parties, or just visiting family and friends. I’ve had my family over. My Dad’s been up and my Mum. They think it’s surprisingly posh and really appreciate the safety aspect. The price is also very competitive; compares really well with private flats, but much less hassle
Aberdeen Powis Place
Physician Associate Studies Aberdeen University
I chose Georgia, Tennessee, in the United States for my undergraduate degree, studying Pre- Med and Health Science. I come from Hamilton. A close knit, family orientated com- munity of about sixty thousand people on a very small island. My first big cultural shift was to come to a city. Any city. My chosen field has been established the US for many years, so is well developed within the medical profession. We are trained to diagnose and manage patients, much the same as a junior doctor.
In the U.S. Physician Associates also conduct their own surgeries and run clinics. It’s much newer in the UK, so we’re still more heavily under the super- vision of consultants. I’ve always been very interested in medicine, but the challenge comes when you want to build a career, but also want a family life. I wanted to work in an area I love, but have time for my family. This seemed like a career choice that could make that happen.
There was a list of all the places in the UK that do the course. My initial plan of action, was to apply for the first four universities and see how that went. I ended up getting accepted to all four, so I thought, I don’t need to apply to any more.
Aberdeen had the resource for me to go snowboarding if I wanted so that made the decision very easy. Snowboarding is my new favourite sport. You have to have a hobby and Scotland has beautiful snowy mountains for me to indulge it. There’s been lots of lovely snow this winter, but unfortunately I had so many classes and so much studying, I’ve not been able to take advantage very often. When I do I just love the extreme weather you get up a mountain, the thrill of tackling a hill and meeting other lovers of extreme conditions. The irony is, as soon as they find out where I’m from, they almost always ask about the Bermuda Triangle, which is actually a bit of a myth. Most people don’t know this but at first it used to be called the Miami Triangle but Florida wanted to shift the attention away from them, so we got the blame for all dis- appearing boats and planes.
So far I’ve really liked UK cities. They have the bustling energy of the big American cities, but people are generally a lot more friendly. I really like Inverness
and I’m going there for a full month as soon as I can. I’ve also been to Glasgow and Edinburgh. They both seem really cool and I want to investigate more. I like the Midlands and London as well; though no mountains, so no snowboarding.
I chose Powis Place as I wanted somewhere close to Uni, but not too far from the city. Somewhere reasonably priced, where I could feel secure and have my own room.
The building is great. All the staff are really friendly. They actually take time to get to know you properly and we always have a laugh. I do a lot of studying in Powis Place. I enjoy the combination of my own space and the shared areas. I would like to continue working in Aberdeen and really glad my course exists here. It’s good to think that the city is at the forefront of new things
Finance & Business Management StudentAberdeen University
My University back in China has an affiliation with Aberdeen University and Aberdeen also ranks in the top three for my course, so I just kind of landed here, not knowing what I’d find. I didn’t even know much about the UK as a whole, never mind Aberdeen. I knew a little bit about Lon- don but that was about it. I’d previously moved to the US, having been accepted for UCLA, but I wasn’t sure if the major I was on was right for me, as it didn’t quite seem to fit with my plans.
I predominantly wanted to be an entrepreneur, so went back to China to develop business interests with friends. It went well enough to start with, though I had conflicts with my parents, who wanted me to go back to University. I began to realise that they were correct and I simply didn’t have enough knowledge to support my aims. So I swallowed my pride and realised I should go and learn some more stuff. What I’m learning here is already giving me really useful knowledge, which is a huge relief, as I can now see I wasn’t completely wrong about my previous course and ended up taking the right direction, even if was all in rather a roundabout way.
I’ve been here for two years. To begin with I wasn’t a big fan of the weather. On a grey day, in a city built from grey granite everything seemed a bit grey. I tend to adapt to things pretty quickly though, so after a couple of months I started to fit in.
A major reason for that was finding the community here at Powis Place and the surrounding community in Aberdeen really kind and friendly. I didn’t see some of the racist behaviour I witnessed elsewhere. Most people in the UK, especially Scotland, seem to be genuinely welcoming, embracing of all kinds of cultures. They seem more interested than suspicious.
I chose Powis place because a Chinese friend of mine was here before me and she highly recommended it. She’s still here and will be next year as well. I’ve made new friends through staying here. None of my flatmates are from China, which is very interesting for me. Sometimes Chinese people are all in the same flats, but I find it pretty cool that I get to live with people from different cultural backgrounds. I would like to work internationally in
Aberdeen Powis Place
the future. It’s great to try and understand not just people from one place, but people from many different places.
I often use the common room for revision. I like it a lot. It’s really well designed and decorated, with nice furniture and interesting artwork. It’s quiet inside, but you see the motion of the street outside. The combination of all these factors just seems to work in harmony and make you feel good.
MA German and French StudentAberdeen University
I could have gone to St Andrews University, and considered Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as Aberdeen, as I thought it was important to move away and get more independence though stay in Scotland to begin with. The other Universities tend to major in one language, which would mean me dropping the other in third year, whereas at Aberdeen I can continue with both all the way, as a joint Honours, which suited me well.
There’s a lot of old money in St Andrews. People in tweeds, pop-up organic markets all over the place, that sort of thing. It was a bit of a culture shock coming to a bigger city like Aberdeen, especially as I arrived when I was just seventeen, and the first time I’d ever been away from home. It can get quite lively here on a Friday night, but it’s a lot of fun when you get used to it. I feel more freed up here than at home.
St Andrews is small enough that you know so many people. If you walk down the street you usually bump into about ten of them. Here there’s a bit more anonymity. I miss St Andrews too though. It’s a beautiful place. I have a dog back there and love going to the beach and meeting all the other dogs and dog people.
I have a very specific plan at the moment, though it might change. My course is five years and in the third year I go away to France and Germany. After- wards, I plan to do a postgrad law degree, so that I can work for the EU. My goal is to be a barrister in the EU Law Courts. For this you need to be able to speak French and one other foreign language fluently, which is why I’m doing
Aberdeen Powis Place
this course. I’m British, but my parents are from Australia and Malaysia, so I’ve been brought up with an international outlook.
I’m very happy here. I stay in the same flat as Megan, so it’s the usual shenan- igans and we’ve become good friends though being here. Powis Place is ten minutes away from Uni and ten minutes away from George Street, which is where the city centre starts. Ten minutes from the train and bus station too. So it’s perfectly placed for Uni, going out at night and transport. The accom- modation is about half an hour away from the Uni.
I’ve got a part time job, so gone from not knowing anything about clubs to working in clubs, sometimes at the bar, sometimes on the floor, sometimes in the cloakroom. You learn a bit of everything, see all aspects. At the end of the night, you can’t get much sense from some people. You try to give them their coat and they ask for your phone number. Everyone’s generally quite pleasant though.
Aberdeen Powis Place
