Lewis & Hickey delivers project at Loughborough University

The Nottingham office of Lewis and Hickey Architects (L&H) has provided the design concept for a £9 million refurbishment scheme at Loughborough University for Ocon Construction.

The design and build scheme started last month (nov) and will see a refurbishment of the university’s 521-bed Falkner Eggington Campus student residences, common room, warden’s flats and social hub building.

L&H was appointed by Ocon Construction to deliver design concepts for the refurbishment of the project as well as a new build extension and landscaping works.

Originally conceived as a two-phase, two-year project, the programme was reduced to a single phase, ten-month programme by Ocon, minimising costs and disruption for the client.

Kevin Smith, project director at L&H, said: “This is one of several student accommodation projects that L&H is working on with Ocon. We recently completed a successful student scheme in Russell Street with Ocon in Nottingham.

“This project has enabled L&H to further expand upon our group-wide experience; having seen a number of our other student living projects completed in the last few months, we have now delivered over 11,000 student bedrooms. This gives us a leading position as architects in the sector, which enables us to demonstrate to clients that our diverse experience adds tangible value to projects.”

Originally built in 1974, the campus of 75 student town house residences contain a total of 521 student bedrooms. Ocon will carry out a complete strip out, upgrading the acoustics, installing floors and ceilings and redecorating the 75 student living blocks throughout.  The project also includes a complete overhaul of the M&E services, installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, and upgrading of all fixtures and fittings.

Externally, the buildings will be fitted with new roofs, windows and doors and Ocon will completely remodel the grounds to update the landscaping and provide exterior common areas. The project is due to complete in September 2013 in time for the new academic year.

Malcolm Lyon, Ocon’s project manager, said: “We have previously completed a new build student accommodation scheme for a private developer in Loughborough but this is our first scheme directly for Loughborough University and it reflects a trend at Ocon, with current schemes on site for the universities of Liverpool and Sussex.

“Our experience in the sector has allowed us to dramatically reduce the programme which will provide substantial cost savings for the client and enable them to manage their student accommodation provision more easily while improving the quality of accommodation on offer.”