A high quality purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme, raising standards for PBSA developments.

Jon Matthews Architects were appointed by Premier Inn Ltd to develop a scheme that meets the demands of student housing needs in Birmingham City Centre. The site sits in a well-connected area of the city and lies at an intersection between Broad Street’s tall building corridor; The Essington St Urban Block, the completed Brindley Place masterplan and the Ladywood redevelopment plan.

To the east of the site, a number of large scale high rise developments are emerging creating a new corridor of high rise for Birmingham. The brief was to manage the transition of scale from tall buildings down to the residential scale while providing high quality public realm and a mix of on-site amenity spaces alongside student accommodation.

The development aims to achieve BREEAM Excellent, EPC A rated status and a 10% biodiversity net gain.

The L shaped block of ground plus 12 & 13 storeys provides strong active frontage to Essington Street enhancing the street. Green and useable public realm has been created providing people centred places with improved pedestrian connectivity.

The 13th floor accommodates generous amenity spaces inclusive of a gym and activity studio to supplement the amenity at ground along with an external shared residents terrace facing south east, catching sunlight throughout the year.

The façade is ordered in a contemporary take on the classical tripartite to create a base, middle and crown with areas of deep reveals enhancing depth and order.

The symmetry in the façade responds to the local historic context and brings a distinct focus to the building entrance. A material pallet of rich and warm tones of red brick and red sandstone coloured precast concrete helps maximise natural materials and lower embodied carbon.