Sharing spaces – getting student accommodation right
David Campbell, Managing Director of Alumno, explains how strategically developed purpose-built student accommodation can make a valuable contribution to urban life, ranging from supporting vital education establishments and providing the right study, living and social environments for their students, to local regeneration, restoration, economic growth and improving the fabric of communities.
Social housing, affordable housing and key-worker housing are all forms of tenure geared towards helping people take their first steps and establish a roof over their heads. But more than this, at their best, they also foster an invaluable sense of community, identity and place. To develop student housing successfully, it should be viewed in much the same way and context.
Student accommodation is often a young person’s first experience of a home away from their immediate family and familiar surroundings. This is reason enough to ensure it’s designed in a way that provides residents with both their own private space, but also encourages and promotes wider engagement and socialising with their peers. After all, most students will tend to choose an education establishment far away from family and friends. This makes meeting and getting to know new people as quickly as possible key to settling successfully into student life.
