Thursday 13 March 2014

Plans approved for 'exemplar of student accommodation' in East London


Ambitious plans by Alumno Developments described as ‘having the potential to be an exemplar of student accommodation' have, this week, been granted consent by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Planning Department, subject to referral by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Designs by MJP Architects for the Three Mills West redevelopment, a derelict petrol station site in Stratford High Street in East London, were praised by the Quality Review Panel of the LLDC. The project will include purpose-built accommodation comprising 431 student rooms offering a choice of living arrangements and budgets plus a range of artists' studios and a cafe/gallery space.

Alumno's proposal, which will bring added vitality to the area, involves working with a variety of community groups, charities and independent businesses. It is hoped the scheme will be open for the 2016 academic year.

Specialist developers in student accommodation, Alumno will be working closely with students from the FdA Interior Design Faculty at Chelsea College of Art & Design, the second time that the college has collaborated with the organisation. A total of 45 students in ten design teams will play a hands-on role in the development of the Stratford accommodation and facilities.


 David Campbell, Alumno's managing director explains: 
‘We asked the students to consider existing living formats and housing typologies and to provide a detailed design proposal as part of their coursework. In order to encourage healthy debate and competition, their proposals will be judged on creativity and an overall winner will be chosen after Easter.'
 ‘Our projects with Alumno have been a great success', says Tom Tomris Tangaz, Course Leader of FdA Interior Design at Chelsea. ‘They show how education and industry can work together for mutual benefit.'

Their previous collaboration was the redevelopment of the former Southwark Town Hall into a complex with student accommodation, a publicly accessible theatre and café, and artists' studios. When completed later this year, this development will provide modern bedroom accommodation for 152 students plus generous and adaptable communal areas, an arts theatre and studios.
‘We were really impressed with the student ideas for the Southwark site,' says Campbell, ‘and the best of these will be incorporated into the interior design of the new buildings to provide facilities that closely match the needs and tastes of prospective users.

‘Partnership with the key stakeholders, such as the universities and the students themselves, has become a unique strand of our work and has certainly helped drive the success of our projects. We are excited to be involved with the Chelsea College of Art and Design and the advantages of having their students involved is a win win. We benefit from the insights of our target market, while the students benefit from interaction with professional architects and developers and are able to apply their academic studies to a real-life and contemporary project."

 More information can be found at www.alumnodevelopments.com


About Alumno Developments

Since beginning in 2006, Alumno Developments has continually worked with universities, colleges and other key stakeholders to provide homes for around 2,000 students across the UK. Previous successful projects include the development of former Southwark Council offices at 30-32, 33-37 and 39 Peckham Road, Camberwell, into student accommodation for Camberwell College of Arts.




***** Don't Miss the Latest News - Receive these Posts by Email *****

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner


* Read more current and archived articles on our dedicated website *

Low Cost and Free Publicity - Your company can easily benefit from some publicity like this in return for a contribution towards our layout costs (typically £25 plusVAT), payable via PayPal or credit card  or receive the service absolutely free of charge if you advertise (see below).

We post articles up to twice a day and never delete them - we only archive them each year so that they continue to remain visible to search engines.

To have your story published - just send us your news item, logo and image(s) and we will review the material, make any necessary changes to the wording / wordcount and then advise you when it will be published.

If you take display advertising or product and literature features in our printed and online publications, you will qualify for regular free postings on this blog while you continue to advertise with us.

For details on features and advertising rates please contact us or visit our website.

Door Industry Journal is a trading style of Avalon Innovations LLP Company Registration No. 06807833

No comments: