One of the world’s largest student accommodation schemes built to low-energy Passivhaus standards is to be developed on UWE Bristol’s campus.
Work on the 280,000 sq ft scheme – described as a game changer for the student accommodation market – will begin this September. 
It has been designed by Bristol-headquartered architecture firm Stride Treglown and project managed by the city office of property agency JLL
The project, which will include 900 bedrooms, will significantly address UWE’s 2030 carbon targets, lowers operational costs and meets its mission to appeal to what it calls discerning future students.
Passivhaus buildings use very little energy for heating and cooling while still providing a high level of comfort for their occupiers and are built with meticulous attention to detail and rigorous design and construction according to principles developed by Germany’s Passivhaus Institute.
Once completed, the buildings will operate at a 75% carbon reduction compared to accommodation of the same size using traditional design and construction methods.
They will need almost no energy to heat, with what little is required generated by photovoltaics and recirculated from the ventilation systems.
UWE pro vice-chancellor Prof Martin Boddy said: “This will enable us to meet our clear commitment to make high-quality purpose-built university accommodation available to all of our first-year students.
“The project will be built to the highest Passivhaus sustainability standards – a first nationally for a development of this scale and a key step on our ambition as a university to be carbon neutral by 2030.”
JLL project director and head of UK operations for project, cost and net zero carbon design consulting, Tim Harris, added: “It is brilliant to see UWE invest in the future of its students like this, not only from a sustainable design point of view, but also providing a new level of focus on student wellbeing.
“The university and project team have remained totally committed to delivering the core objectives of this first phase of the development and it will become a game changer for the student accommodation market with many lessons learnt that can be shared globally.
“As the project team continue the journey to procure a constructor, with its ‘one-team’ mindset, I have no doubt that the objectives of the university will be fully delivered.”
Alongside sustainability, student wellbeing is a key target. The team will use biophilic design principles, which aim to connect occupants with the natural environment, in the interiors while landscapes will be designed to the Building with Nature approach.
The first phase of the scheme is expected to be completed by the 2023 academic year. UWE has more than 30,000 students with many of them housed in student accommodation on its Frenchay campus during their first year. The campus, the university’s largest, has been expanded substantially over recent years.
