Future Generation The Elite Student Accommodation
Introduction Future Generation Future Generation designs, builds, manages and operates outstanding student accommodation and networking facilities for the leaders of the future. A select group of key university towns and cities have been selected to roll out 10,000 beds across c.25 sites over the next 5 years. Future Generation has an outstanding toolkit of room prototypes, ensuring consistency of brand and construction methodology across the platform. Future Generation is keenly focused on providing students with high quality accommodation at great value for money with focus on amenity space. This section of the UK market is suffering from the most acute pressure of under supply. The Opportunity Rio Architects are working with Future Generation to deliver a mixed use development primarily comprising of purpose built managed student accommodation, with flexible commercial / retail / community space at ground floor level. The site is situated within the south east edge of Loughborough town centre along the A6 Barrow Street and bounded by Leicester Road, Pinfold Gate and Aumberry Gap. The site on Barrow Street provides the opportunity for Future Generation to deliver high quality, well managed student accommodation in the heart of Loughborough. This development seeks to deliver:- 45 cluster apartments 91 studio apartments 10 twodio apartments Student and community facilities totalling 1774m² A community based 5-a-side rooftop football pitch
Introduction Future Generation Amenity Space Future Generation is not only keenly focused on providing students with high quality accommodation at great value for money, but also on bench mark, exemplary, spacious, well equipped and high quality amenity space. The accompanying images in this section are design precedents showing the design ethos of Future Generation with regard to the amenity space.
Introduction Future Generation Student Bedrooms Future Generation has an outstanding toolkit of room prototypes, ensuring consistency of brand and construction methodology across the platform.
Concept Leicestershire Forts/Castles Forts and castles were the landmark buildings of their time. Solid masonry constructions using local materials. Belvoir Castle Kirby Muxloe Castle
Concept Leicestershire Industrial Buildings Brick industrial buildings. Strong grid facades. Frog Island, Leicester
Concept Leicestershire Landmarks Towers creating landmarks Loughborough University Carillon Tower in Queens Park
Materials Brick Metal Standing Seam The dominant material of the local area is brick which aligns itself well with the concept of the building as a fort. In order to be honest and authentic with the chosen material it is important to reveal the depth of this material rather than seeing this material as a thin veneer. To this end the window reveals are proposed to be a full brick in depth. The colour of the tower brick will be a darker colour than the remaining development. The brick samples below show the desired colour and texture for the two types of brick proposed. The roof of the student townhouse is a monopitched roof in a grey metal standing seam. The same material is used on the projecting bays in the same grey colour. This provides a good contrast between the bays and the brick. The roof of the tower is also a standing seam metal roof which is coloured to match the tower brick. The concept behind this is to show the tower as one homogenous element almost like it is solid brick.
Proposals View from Leicester Road/Pinfold Gate
Design Development Townhouses The development along Pinfold Gate is purposefully domestic in scale to respect the streetscape and in particular, the terrace of listed cottages. The cottages are mostly mirrored in articulation with front doors side by side. The chimneys express a verticality on the elevations and also help to delineate between properties. The windows follow classical proportions in that their heights diminish from ground to first floor. The student townhouses are arranged to also mirror properties with doors side by side as a nod to the listed properties opposite. The projecting bays are a modern interpretation of the chimneys providing both a vertical element to the elevations and delineation between the properties. The windows also decrease in height moving up from the ground floor. The accommodation arrangement of the student townhouses is a large communal kitchen/dining/living room on the ground floor with direct access to the communal courtyard to the rear to help promote a sense of belonging to the overall development. Single study bedrooms are located on the upper floors with two bedrooms sharing a bathroom pod. Student Townhouses Pinfold Gate Elevation Listed Terrace Pinfold Gate Elevation The upper floor bedrooms to the rear have a mezzanine bed level within the brick volume which protrudes above the roof line. This brick element not only provides diversity within the accommodation offered but also provides a stop for the mono pitch roof, preventing it from appearing too high from street level. 3d section of student townhouse showing bed mezz level and stop for pitched roof.
Leicester Road Aumberry Gap The Elite, Student Accommodation, Loughborough Proposals Site Plan Landscaped Courtyard Plant Multi-Purpose Space Parking Shared Pedestrian/Vehicular Courtyard Student Amenity Community Space Barrow Street
Design Development Student Amenity Space The majority of the student amenity is located on the ground floor with additional space at the 13 th floor. Students use the same main entrance as the community facility users via a centralised entrance lobby. The student amenity is located to the west along Barrow Street and Leicester Road. This will provide active frontages on these important roads over a longer period during each 24hr cycle than the community facilities. The spaces also open onto the courtyard behind giving convenient access to the landscaped courtyard beyond. Central Reception Student and Community Uses Initial Concept Views Student Amenity Secure Line
Community Consultations Future Generation are unique in the student accommodation sector. Their aspirations are to not only create great places to live but also to positively contribute to the wider community. As part of The Elite Future Generation wish to create spaces where the community can come together to work/create/play/relax. Extensive consultations have taken place prior to this submission with local interest and community groups to discuss the needs and the wishes of the local community. A timeline of these meetings is highlighted below:- SEPT 2017 SEPT 2017 SEPT 2017 OCT 2017 OCT 2017 NOV 2017 NOV 2017 DEC 2017 Hastings Community Association Falcon Support Services The Generator Nicky Morgan MP Cllr Jewel Miah - Labour Councillor for Loughborough Lemyngton The Generator Louise Chance Neighbourhood Development Officer Loughborough Well-Being Cafe The following themes and ideas have arisen from the consultations carried out with the local groups:- Community access to buildings Durable buildings which will be relevant in the future Interesting buildings Parking Community run creche Collaborative working space Health spa/sauna Meeting rooms for community use Partner with local charities Volunteering opportunities Help Generator to support graduates establish sustainable businesses Artist/craft studios IT area Sound/video edit suite Exhibitions area Events area Pop-up shop space Dance area Yoga/Pilates classes Makeaspace areas Recycling / swap and share facilities Performance Room Mum and toddler group space Providing community space being lost by the closing of community centres nearby Table tennis Kitchen area for cooking classes Café The Generator The Generator has a vision to support a creative community that will help individuals, start-ups and small companies from across the creative sectors so that they can thrive in Loughborough, so that they excel and expand the creative community and economy and therefore reinvigorate the town centre. This is a vision that Future Generation fully supports and endorses and something that is considered to fit perfectly with the new annual intake of students and those that would ideally live in and be associated with this development. The planning permission sought for the community areas incorporates a wide range of planning use groups (A1, B1 and D1) which will give a high degree of flexibility to the activities being offered by the facility. The layouts indicated within this application are indicative only and will be further refined to reflect the discussions already had with local groups and discussions to be held in the future. It is important that the facilities provided by Future Generation within this development reflect the needs of the community but that are also flexible enough to move with the times and community needs.
Community Layouts A large expanse of the ground floor is given over to the community. There is a multi-purpose space which can house various classes, pop-up shops, seminars etc. This space is a stand-alone space which means it can be potentially used after regular community facility hours. The community facilities can be used as networking hubs, co-working spaces, meeting spaces and a variety of other community based activities. There is a rooftop 5-a-side football pitch contained on the roof of the central block which will also be accessible to the community Access to rooftop football pitch Multi-Purpose Space Initial Concept Views Central Reception Student and Community Uses Community Facilities Secure Line
Community Ideas Multi-Purpose Space The multi-purpose space can be used for pop-up shops to help small businesses establish an outlet. Local people could hire the venue to hold yoga/pilates classes or the such like. Events/exhibitions could be housed within the space as could larger public meetings or networking events. The idea with this space is that it is as flexible as possible to give a wide range of possibilities to the community.
Community Ideas Collaborative Working Spaces which allow flexible working and co-working spaces are provided within the ground floor. Meeting rooms of various sizes and breakout areas are all provided to give a range of spaces suitable for 1 or 2 people to larger groups.
Community Ideas Shared Spaces Relaxation and shared breakout spaces allow for more informal gatherings.
Community Ideas The images opposite are example images from similar types of accommodation some of which are Rio Architects own work. These illustrate open plan co-working, meeting spaces, networking hubs all in a modern, gritty, urban, stripped back interior feel. Within the ground floor space there could be potential for creating small breakout spaces on top of cellular meeting spaces such as is shown on the image directly to the right. Colour can used to delineate spaces for each other whilst maintaining a feel of openness.
Community Football Pitch High parapet walls Mesh Enclosure The roof top 5-a-side football is a unique feature of this development. It will be open for community use during daylight hours. The pitch has a dedicated lift access to protect the security of the residential floors. The fire escape is combined and will open on activation of the fire alarm. The pitch is surrounded by high parapet walls which are angled from the corner closest to the Phantom Pub and the student townhouses down to the opposite diagonal corner. These walls have been purposefully designed in this orientation to try and protect the amenity of the closest neighbours from noise from the football pitch. Further details of the acoustics of the football pitch can be found within the Acoustic Engineer s report. There is a mesh enclosure to the pitch (including a roof) to prevent any stray footballs.