There’s a huge amount of land next to canals that is now underused, or vacant, derelict and dangerous. The fact that David Campbell is seeking canal side sites is not a coincidence. It shows how, in the right hands, this industrial character can be re-energised with new uses. University Locks is not on a university campus but the fact that many students choose to live there shows how regular, reliable high-quality transport links means we can live further away in terms of miles but still be close to where we work, study or want to visit. We agreed with David that this could be a very sustainable location. It was an underused brownfield site and more importantly it had local community, local amenities, shops, businesses and great transport links.
What people sometimes seem to forget is that bringing students into these sort of areas can also benefit a lot of the businesses. The economy that students bring to regeneration areas is significant and shouldn’t be underestimated. Student housing done right can be far more resilient and predictable than market housing, or commercial offices, because there’s a demand for local universities to provide good quality housing. It’s one of the factors that determines whether a students wants to come to a university and also gives confidence to their parents that their kids will be in a very safe and secure environment. It’s actually helped be a catalyst to regenerate areas – the one we did at Kings Cross happened before a lot of the commercial and residential moved in.
An important thing it did for Leamington was to alleviate the issue of poor quality under-managed HMOs, which in turn were taking away family housing in a town centre. With HMOs you’ve got absentee landlords instead of a managed estate, so it’s difficult to sustain a high quality offer for students, that is also culturally inclusive. You often end up with isolated streets which become a sort of student ghetto, whereas developing a purpose-built estate gives students a managed environment where they feel secure. As referred to previously, University Locks was also about bringing life back to Leamington’s post-industrial canal side. By improving the public realm, safety and bringing in activation it becomes an attractive amenity for the indigenous local community, as well as the students.
Reconnecting Althorpe Street to the High Street, through the canal side tow- path, began from the principle that David and ourselves wanted to develop a scheme that brings in wider benefits to the community. That connection was previously a very unsafe part of the canal towpath, riddled with needles,
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so you were not going to get people using it to move between the industrial quarter to the High Street. Therefore businesses and local amenities were not benefitting.
As well as radically improving the towpath, we also proposed a plan to pro- vide a wider public realm that the communities and the students could enjoy as a breakout space. Although much of the towpath is quite a constrained pathway, there are opportunities where you can open it for sitting and re- laxing. So we brought in a new square and installed a public art installation. If you give something of quality that instils pride, the chances are, it will be embraced and therefore looked after by the community. These things can have a hugely transformative effect and allowed us to look at how we could use this development to convince planners that by doing the right thing here it unlocks bigger things going forward.
We developed a collection of two buildings. One building addressed Althorpe Street building line, bringing you into the canal side towpath. These two blocks did very simple, but effective, things in terms of a design as they turn the corner and then bring you along the canal side. The composition is two warehouse blocks connected with a single storey glazed link, which as you walk through give framed views of the canal.
What was also really interesting was that when the common room was taking shape, we were looking at what we should do in terms of the interior design, wall colours, and warmth. We decided to keep the walls white. If you’re going to be sitting in this room looking out, a degree of colour, warmth and interest is going to come from the towpath, the canal, that lovely old brick wall and trees on the other side of the water. All of that is bringing colour and life into the room. A neutral approach also becomes a canvas for the artwork, which brings in subtle elements of colour. The artwork reflects the surrounding area, so if students are looking out the windows to the canal, the artwork is also effectively a window to the community beyond, encouraging students to explore and feel part of the town. It also exists as the windows to the town when it’s dark outside and there is no canal view.
Having that common room on that corner, was extremely important, because what it had to do, was address both the street and the canal side and bring them together. It was about turning a corner and doing it in a way that you feel safe and it’s attractive. It’s giving some animation.
We also felt that putting the main entrance on Althorpe street was very important. We could have very easily turned our back to Althorpe street and put the entrance toward the canal bridge. Instead we said we’re go-
ing to put in on to the street and create a very welcoming presence and manage the perception of Althorpe Street being just a car- driven industrial estate kind of street. Putting the front door there and creating this welcoming approach to the building also managed the parking. It sort of pushed the parking out and created a very attractive setting, making it a very important connection.
The student rooms themselves are a very simple arrangement of cluster rooms with living spaces on the ends of them, so the communal living spaces are all located on the gable ends, giving them the opportunity to have double or triple aspects. We used a very similar principle to the one we used in Birmingham; let’s use the corners of buildings as these communal living and dining spaces because they can be less private and therefore more open. Every approach you take, whether it’s from the High Street, or whether it’s from Althorpe Street or along the canal, you’ll always get a view of the corner of the building which is animated by the communal spaces, therefore making an attractive destination for that jogger or that walker.
The simple thing about warehouses is keeping a very well ordered, mannered grid, with vertical proportions. Placing light-coloured windows in a dark-toned brickwork so you could read each structural bay and it was consistent. We were very focused on ensuring these proportions – the depth and size of the piers, the proportion of the windows.
All of that was tested rigorously to ensure that we maintained the proportions to the industrial warehouses, but it had a very contemporary language to it. It’s not about being pastiche. It’s about respecting the proportions and scales, but then using modern methods of construction and traditional materials but in a very contemporary detailing approach. Both buildings were very meticulous and we tested these slightly different tones of the brickwork because it was important that they felt like a collection of buildings,. It was a fine balance between them being very different to them being too subtle, or too close, that it looked like one was a slightly dirtier version of the other one. It was important that we chose the two bricks that complemented each other, gave them their own sort of subtle identity, but they felt very much as a pair of buildings.
We worked with the subcontractors to test bricks on side samples and on mock-ups. We went down to a local factory to look at the window screens because we were interested in how much perforation do you create in those louvres, so that you manage privacy, but at the same time also achieve the free area for the ventilation. We worked very much in partnership with Alumno when making these decisions, to make sure that the metalwork,
the brickwork, the detailing and all of that was coming together – so it created the right palate of materials
Our shared vision with David, right from the outset, was that this was going to be a collection of industrial warehouse buildings. The biggest problem on a project is when you can’t share that vision early on with your client, so you’re not confident about what the client is expecting and the client is not confident about what we are trying to achieve. We were going forward with something we both believed in – even if it meant we had to have bigger openings, or service access, or doors to plan to – everything would have to fit into the framework of the facade with no compromising that would take it away from that industrial language.
My biggest satisfaction with this project is how we’re redeveloped a disused site to provide good quality student housing for the most important stage of anyone’s life, but also how much it can support the local businesses for the wider community of Leamington. Everything from the local cycle shops to the cafes, and the convenience stores, has suddenly got this influx of stu- dents who live nearby and benefit their business. It brings that livelihood where you’ve got a daytime and an evening economy. It’s sort of predicting the future, as a growing town.
Where student housing has failed, quickly starts looking very tired and becomes an eyesore for cities, is where the build quality and thinking of their possibility as a place hasn’t happened. There are probably far more examples of where student housing has failed than there have been successes, because student housing was never taken seriously or as an inclusive part of society. It’s far too often been seen as a sort of short -term fix to bring lots of students into a ghetto and charge them. The best of what happens now is seen as an inclusive part of communities. For us it’s important that we do create the right environment for students whilst also benefiting the wider community. That’s where we feel any project is a real success. It’s beyond the actual building itself.
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Property Manager I think working with students keeps you young. They keep you updated with all the new fads and fashions, and you get the latest news, all first-hand. I like the variety – every day in the job is never the same. When you think you’re going to have a quiet day it turns out that it’s not. It is always interesting and always dynamic.
I really like this accommodation because it is not just any accommodation. I mean there are lots of accommodation providers but I think we are giving the students accommodation with a soul. There is a spirit to this building. I felt that the moment they put the artwork up. It inspires us to grow with that ethos. The students really like the artwork: the screen prints and photography. It makes us different to the others. Everybody has walls, floors and windows but I feel that having this artwork makes us different. People notice, not only students, but people passing by for a walk down the canal sometimes try to see what is hanging on the walls of the common room. A few even come and ask what the building is about. We say, ‘Oh it’s for students, it’s brand new,’ and they say, ‘Oh I wish I was a student.’
Leamington as a town is on a very human scale. Nobody feels locked in this building. As well as being encouraged, they just naturally go outside and explore the world around them.
It’s not only the building, the whole town has some kind of soul. Without that you are in a crowd but actually you are alone. It was amazing when we had the grand opening of the building. We had the mayor of Leamington, Warwick University dignitaries, all sorts of representatives. A lot of peo-
ple from the local community came, because for them the opening of this building was a big thing.
So if you are looking to be in the community, a part of the community of this building and the community of Leamington Spa, this is the place. Here we live together with local people and, as I say to my students, half jokingly, ‘When you pass by my desk, I will probably speak to you. If you don’t want to talk, then go through the other door.’
My job is a subtle business, obviously I’ve got to take care of running everything, but the human touch, the interaction, is particularly important be- cause some of these students are quite young – 18 or 19 years old. You need to guide them a little sometimes. We are basically the first point of contact. If the friendly communication between us is established we don’t get stroppy emails about things we weren’t aware of. I just get to know people in person so we can try to avoid any problems. There are a lot of them that call me by name, which I think is great because I don’t have a name tag.
The human touch is so important especially in this age that we live in now. There is isolation and loneliness, because all this online world can’t replace real human interaction. A lot of what the artwork is about, the photographs and everything, is trying to say just go outside and wander around and experience and share things. The building has floor to ceiling windows that integrate the outside. So when you see the barges going up and down you feel like exploring. When you sit in the common room people wave to you. That’s brilliant. It’s so nice. I think people here are more relaxed which makes them more friendly.
Everyone picks what suits them. Not every student wants to be in the middle of the madness so to have somewhere quite quiet like this suits some. I do enjoy a bit of clothes and shoes shopping, and a quick walk via the canal and over the bridge leads you to The Parade. I stopped asking questions of local people about where you can get so and so because I know the answer is going to be the Parade. Everything is the Parade. ‘You’ll find it on The Parade.’
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I’ve lived in Leamington all my life, for my sins. I was born in Masters Road and the house backed on to a cemetery. I spent many a happy moment down there with my doll’s pram and my brother. We had some great times, being shouted at by a red-faced man from the lodge. The old lodges are private now. I wish I could actually move into them because I think they are lovely extraordinary places. I find it quite peaceful there.
The local community has welcomed East Shore. It seems to be somewhere people feel is a positive addition to the area. Warwick University has been linked with Leamington for decades, but the town has retained a distinct, though evolving, character. I remember 1970’s South Town as a child. There were a lot of independent retailers. All these wonderful family-run independ- ent shops, and I think that’s stayed around this area. There’s always been that independent streak. Now there are shops reflecting newer communities mixed with so me of the older ones. There was some money given to do up South Town, so that has helped too. There are community initiatives for people of all sorts of different backgrounds, like Sydenham, for instance – they’ve got the SYDNI Centre that’s very multicultural. The students fit right in; a soup bowl we all get on very well together in. I think the strong, growing community stems from the district council having councillors from different backgrounds, which can help.
I went to Coventry University for both my degrees, though continued living in Leamington, so I can help to almost educate the students about various things. I was a student ambassador for the open days as well. I know Leamington, Coventry and a bit about Warwick, so I’ve been that little bit of a bridge to those students
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Warwick University
I’m originally from Copenhagen, but I had part of my childhood in the UK, before moving to Denmark again. I decided to come back to fulfil my studies, as it’s arguably the best place to study certain disciplines, including mine. Warwick has an excellent reputation and not a lot of universities do the course I wanted.
Because I’m in my fourth year now, I planned to either live by myself or live quite closed off . A lot of my friends had already left and I didn’t want to live in Canley, which is the town closest to the university, like most of my remaining friends were doing. So I started looking into studios and stuff like that, then this came up. I saw it had a nice ensuite room with a massive kitchen for a good price, with a common room and everything. I decided on that option because I wanted to kind of live by myself, but still have people around me without it being this whole student crazy life culture. This is a bit more calm. I’m currently sharing with seven other girls, but we all get along and there’s no crazy partying, no drama; it’s just very calm and relaxed. I can have a bit of social life but not too much. It’s a very good balance, which is kind of what I needed. This is my final year, so I’ve got to stay extra focused.
I commute to Warwick by bus. I’ve been doing so throughout my studies so I’m quite used to it. I’ve lived here for three years, so I know Leamington in- side out. I also spend my summers here, so I do feel as if this is my home. It’s a lovely town with an interesting history, everything you need really. There are beautiful parks, as well as a good selection of bars, restaurants and cafes for a smallish town. I work in one of them myself, which also helps me get a feel for the place. It’s a good vibrant community.
University Locks compares well with my previous houses. First of all, this doesn’t have any mould – so that helps! No, seriously, it’s really lovely. I’ve had some interesting experiences in student accommodation before. Not too bad, but just the normal kind of student houses where you rent a relatively run-down property from a private landlord, hence my familiarity with mould. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past two years. I went through the university in my first year, who organised student accommodation, and it was fine. I find the idea of being in this university accommodation set-up convenient because it’s a one-off payment, and then I don’t have to worry about anything. I can just focus on my studies, but still feel part of the town as well.
It’s convenient not to have to think about gas, water and electricity because obviously, when you’re living in a house and you’ve got to pay all those bills, you’re concerning yourself with how much you’re showering or how long the heating’s on for. It just wasn’t something I wanted for my fourth year. I wanted to focus.
We’ve got a great common area for everyone. It even has Danish furniture, which is an unexpected bonus, especially for me, being Danish. University Locks doesn’t feel closed off, so you can go out and explore – you definitely want to do something else other than to always be here. They’ve got pictures all around the common room of Leamington Spa so you can see the different areas you can go. They’re really good. I love how they even make a cheap late-night takeaway look interesting. Not an easy task
Business and Marketing StudentCoventry is a very highly rated university, especially for the course that interested me, so although it wasn’t right on my doorstep I decided to come. I’m in second year at the moment and really enjoying it.
I found this accommodation online, through Facebook. I liked what I saw, so I came to take a look around with my Mum. They were still completing it, so it wasn’t fully finished yet, but we could see the potential and really liked the position. I decided to go for it, which I don’t regret. I really like it here. I feel really at home.
I knew Leamington already, which was another factor in my choice. During my first year at Uni, I worked here but lived in Coventry. I love Leamington far more than Coventry. It’s really beautiful.
I’m sharing with six other people, so it’s a seven cluster flat. I find that helps with meeting people and socialising. It’s nice because when you’re making dinner in the kitchen, or reading on the sofa, or whatever, you can spend time together with your flatmates, but you’ve also got your own room when you want privacy. I like my nice en-suite as well.
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The Union isn’t too big, but there’s a really nice mix of students, from all types of backgrounds. The common room is lovely. When you’re sitting there, you just naturally meet people, which is really nice. People often come down and spend time there at night. I haven’t got a TV in my room so soon after I’d moved in, I went down to the common room to watch a programme, and there were other people reading and playing pool in there so I got to meet them and we all started getting to know each other.
I like to go out locally as everything is so close by. We’re right on a lovely stretch of canal, but there’s everything from supermarkets, to all sorts of good smaller shops and some great cafes right on the doorstep. I’ve got my own car but if I wanted to take the train or bus it’s literally just up the road. Everything is so local including bars, clubs, restaurants. I went for an interview the day after I got here. It was a group assessment and I met some people from the University of Warwick, who were going out to one of the clubs that same night. They invited me along and now I’m seeing them every day. That was people I just bumped into round the corner, here in Leamington, so it really makes the whole place, from the accommodation to the surrounding area, feel very inviting.
After I graduate I plan to do Marketing. I’m already a professional beauty therapist so ideally want to go into the beauty industry but specialise in marketing. I feel that would be an interesting way to combine my interests and experience, with a good academic education, which could be beneficial to developing my own business, or working with large organisation. As well as working as an employee, I’ve already had my own mobile, part-time beauty business. I’m also a henna artist so I’ve been travelling all summer doing festivals around the country. Ideally I’d like to go into marketing within a beauty company like L’Oréal or something like that, and eventually have my own salons
International Political Economy Student
Warwick University
I’m from Indonesia, so quite a distance away. I lived with a host family in a private house when I first came to the UK to complete my A-levels. They were nice, but I was young and I must admit I felt quite culturally isolated, as I wasn’t living with fellow students, so I used to stay in my room a lot. Looking back I felt I’d wasted a year and should have explored that great city more. After completing my under- graduate degree in Portsmouth, I decided to take a Masters in Political Economy at Warwick University. The course has an excellent reputation and I felt it would be very useful for my future. I have always wanted to be a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Vacancies are rare however, so I may look to do a PhD here or in the USA.
Regarding accommodation I first looked at a place beside my University campus, but there wasn’t one that fitted. I found out about The Union and heard it was excellent, so went to have a look. I immediately took to Leaming- ton. I fell in love with the architecture and relaxed pace of the town. Peaceful, but still plenty to do. There are even bars and clubs open till 2am if you want a big night out.
I’m very happy with the decision I made. Some of my course mates are in accommodation in Coventry and I don’t think they are having nearly as good an experience. I really like the accommodation here. It’s a nice scale for me and the location is lovely, right on the canal, with everything you need on the doorstop and great transport links. I get the bus to Uni, which is only £4 per day and takes half an hour
There’s a good community feeling here. Everyone is in the same boat. Help- ing each other out. New students together, but from a lot of really interesting mixed backgrounds. The staff are really good too. You can have a laugh with them. Makes it feel more like coming home when they’re there.
I have an en-suite room with shared kitchen/living room, which is amazing. Really good quality. My flat mates are great and I really enjoy spending time with them. If I had a studio flat I don’t think I would have made friends as
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easily. The big common room is stylish, but cosy and comfortable. There’s a pool table, really good furniture and artwork, floor to ceiling windows with views out the canal; so you can see barges gently passing by. I think all of this encourages you to go out and explore.
I already have very positive and warm feelings from the years I’ve spent in this country that I’ll take with me, wherever I go. The UK has taught me a lot of things. Not just what I learned on my courses. I like the diversity and it’s made me think about, and experience, different ethnicities and cultures in a way I hadn’t before. All sorts of people get along remarkably well despite perceived differences. I’ve always felt welcome and accepted. It’s strange though, that a lot of quite major things have happened during my time here, in both UK and global politics, and it’s very interesting to see how a country other than my own deals with such things. An education in itself.
Management and Leadership StudentIn English, they pronounce ‘j’ as ‘jay’ not ‘zsa.’ In Portuguese you don’t say ‘Jay-cinto’ you say ‘Zsa-cinto.’ That’s why everyone just calls me “Jay” instead of Zsa- cinto. It’s even become my nickname in Portugal.
I came for the first time two years ago, for a summer course, and I liked the country. So when I was choosing universities I gave priority to the UK. I also want to improve my English. Coventry was also one of the top ten for my specific course. I’m probably going to go to London to do the MBA. You can do it, even if your previous courses are not related to business, you can do a BA on Cultural Arts and then go and do the MBA – I actually know someone that did it after Historical Art, or something like that.
I arrived in the UK and didn’t have anywhere to live. I’d applied for accommodation through a website but, for some reason, it still said ‘awaiting allocation.’ So I came earlier and I just had a look and found Leamington Spa. I phoned ‘student.com’ and they’d told me just to come here directly and they’d do everything here; that it would be faster and easier. So that’s what I did. I was staying in a hotel in Coventry. I just walked through the door with all my stuff, but Joanne was so friendly and helpful. She’s lovely. I’m so glad I made this decision.
I think that the accommodation is much better here and actually also cheaper than the other options I saw in and around Coventry. Cheaper and better – that’s a good combination. And everyone in the town seems so polite and helpful. We look out onto a beautiful bit of canal here and there are peaceful green places all over. I like to walk and there’s also a good gym close by. I find that a bit of peace is actually quite good for me. Everyone’s different I suppose.
English is my third language. My second language is Spanish, so Portuguese, Spanish, then English.
The first time I came here Joanne told me about the Portuguese community and the Portuguese shop near the Co-op. I went there and it was strange,
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you walk into the Portuguese shop and it’s like you’re in Portugal. The men are standing around drinking Portuguese beer, the woman are eating Portuguese tarts with coffees.
They also sell a lot of Portuguese products. Even the TV was tuned in to a Portuguese news station. It really felt like a little bit of Portugal in Leamington Spa. Even though Joanne told me there was a big Portuguese community, wandering in there was an accident, I was at the Co-op and I saw ‘Taste of Portugal,’ so I went in and everybody is speaking Portuguese; talking about football and politics. In Portugal they live for Fado (which is the Portuguese traditional music) politics and football.
So the good thing is that I actually ended up in a good place and my flatmates are all cool as well. They’re a mix of people from different countries. There’s a Greek girl, a guy from Indonesia, a guy from Macau and the two others are British. The moving wasn’t new for me because I’ve been moving all my life. I lived in Angola for eight years, then South Africa and other places, then Lisbon in Portugal. I was born in Funchal, which is the capital of Madeira, near where Cristiano Ronaldo was born. It’s my town where they made the Ronaldo statue that doesn’t look anything like him. It’s ridiculous. The best footballer in the world and they’ve given him the worst statue. The job went to a public auction sort of thing, so they chose a guy from Madeira to do it, and he’s not… Well, I better not say.
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