Portswood Road, Southampton

About the project

54 new build studio flats providing student accommodation in Southampton.

Studio Four were commissioned to assist with the development of new student accommodation in Southampton, consisting of 54 studio flats and a retail shop, in a 5-storey building plus basement, arranged around a central courtyard on a sloping site. The design also includes a social room, laundry, gymnasium and caretaker’s office.

The building was constructed under two separate contracts – the first for the steel-framed podium and retaining walls to form the basement and the second for the supply, installation and cladding to some seventy prefabricated timber framed modules. This form of construction was carefully chosen for speed and economy; the modules were detailed, manufactured, fully fitted out and decorated in Latvia, inspected by Studio Four Architects and the Client, then shipped over to the UK and craned into place.

The overall contract value was circa £3.5 million.