Five Essentials for Designing Student Housing Complexes

Some of the best innovations in architectural design in recent years have been in communal buildings such as retirement apartment complexes and student housing. There is a real opportunity to lead to way in reforming conventions of apartment design and show the rest of the industry how to do it. Here are the five essentials for creating superior student housing design.

Green

The modern student is environmentally conscious; colleges have a vested interest in keeping the cost of utilities as low as possible – not just to keep their rental costs competitive – but to keep costs down for their students who are often on a tight budget. Carbon footprint can be minimized by renovating old buildings – improved insulation, replaced windows, strategic placing of radiators, using natural shading instead of air conditioning. All these things can all reduce the carbon footprint.

 

Communal Areas

Too often, student building design is maximizing income with minimal space. Some of the best examples in recent years have sought to add elements that can improve the mental well-being for students. Open spaces for study areas or simply to sit and talk, greenery and communal areas, all of these things make for bright design and can improve the environment and the happiness of people who live there.

 

Blend In

Most people like a degree of uniformity and respect for urban design when a new building goes up. If the apartment complex can blend into the existing architecture, keeping color and design schemes and respecting the heritage of the historic quarter where it is located, then it can be a valued addition to a cityscape. This modern student housing in the beautiful medieval city of Urbino, Italy is a great example of that.

 

Self-Contained

 

Students feel safest and most at home when they are a) near to campus and b) surrounded by fellow students. Some of the most appreciated student complexes are those that initially had other single-use functions. That’s why many Olympic villages are often sold to universities for development or refurbishment. One of the most celebrated examples is the former Women’s Bungalow Village constructed for the 1972 Munich Olympics.

 

Facilities

It may be easy to ignore or forget the other leisure needs of students and place the gym, pool, shops, internet café and others on campus – but if the student housing is some distance away it may not be easy to get to the college. This is why providers of student housing are now making provisions for these extra facilities. Not only does it mean students have those conveniences nearby, it will also encourage them to spend their spare money at the apartment block rather than elsewhere.