Projects
Build to Rent, Commercial, Education
Unite Portsmouth – Greetham Street
This striking high-rise provides a home-away-from-home for 836 Portsmouth students.
As a £42 million UNITE student housing development, this project is scheduled to be completed in time to accommodate students enrolling for September 2016.
Richard Simpson, Managing Director of Property for Unite Students said: “This year we have seen university applications continue to outstrip available places and there is a growing need for safe, secure, purpose built student accommodation.”
With its central location adjacent to the Portsmouth and Southsea Railway Station this development is also within range of the University of Portsmouth main campus and provides a solution to the lack of accommodation.
Key Data
Architect:
Cooley Architects / DMWR Architects
Client:
UNITE Group
Engineer:
Meinhardt UK
Main Contractor:
RG Group
Installer/EOS Client:
Metclad Contracts
Steel Framing System Supplier:
EOS
Materials / Type of System:
100mm and 150mm Stud & Track
DESIGN & EOS INVOLVEMENT
The building is arranged in four stepped levels, ranging from seven to 24 storeys in height, and utilises the redundant Greetham Street carpark and Dugald Drummond House.
In addition to the student accommodation, which includes 75 studio rooms and a range of cluster flats with varying numbers of bedrooms, the project also features a trader’s lock-up on the ground floor for market storage.
EOS provided 9,000 square metres of SFS stud and track infill for the 24 storeys of this build, including the parapets, however considerable challenges were faced during this project as a result of the very restrictive conditions on site.
With no capacity for storage or access for a crane on the tight, city centre site, the materials for the project had to be delivered as loose stud and track in specific phases and quantities. Upon delivery at their scheduled time, materials were lifted to floor levels with mast climber cradles where they were assembled before being lifted into position from inside.
These restrictions placed a great demand on the EOS factory and their logistics, as all production and delivery decisions were entirely site dependant.
POSITIVE OUTCOMES
Unite, Portsmouth proved to be a challenging and rewarding project. Despite the obstacles faced by the EOS team – through a combination of careful collaboration with the customer and frequent site visits by the Technical Manager, these issues were overcome and the manufacture and installation for this high profile project was a success.
The size and location of this impressive project on the South Coast demonstrates EOS’ ability to secure major schemes throughout the country and fulfil their client’s needs effectively from their base in County Durham.