Work is starting on the University of Portsmouth’s new Student Hub.
A key project within the University’s £250 million campus redevelopment, it will create stronger connections between learning, student life and wellbeing.
The Student Hub is a complete rethink of how students use and experience the campus. It brings together support services, social learning and wellbeing in one place, with flexible spaces that adapt throughout the year. From informal study areas and activity spaces to quiet wellbeing rooms and dedicated advice spaces, it is designed to feel open, safe and easy to use.
It also strengthens links between the library and student union, improving movement through the campus and creating a more welcoming presence, day and night.
Designing around people and performance
Our multidisciplinary team is providing project management, cost management, architecture, MEP technical advisory services, digital engineering and principal designer (CDM) services. Working across these disciplines has allowed us to address some of the hub’s key ambitions together, particularly sustainability and building performance.
The development is targeting BREEAM Excellent. During the early design stages, our teams tested passive and fabric-first design options, with architects and building services engineers considering embodied and operational carbon alongside each other.
Health and wellbeing have shaped the design too – with WELL principles embedded into the design.
It is a good example of why interdisciplinary working matters. Decisions about architecture, services, sustainability, cost and the student experience are closely connected, so the people responsible for them need to be too.
From masterplan to delivery
That collaboration has extended beyond technical design. We have supported consultation with students, local communities, community groups and councillors, worked alongside the planning and PR consultant, helped secure planning permission and led the public exhibition for the wider campus masterplan.
The Student Hub now joins other areas of the masterplan that have already started on site: the Wiltshire Building, Eldon Multi-Storey Car Park and new Centralised Cycle Hub are currently on site. We have completed RIBA Stage 4 on the new Civil Engineering Lab.
Starting work on the Student Hub now marks another important step forward. A project designed to connect different parts of university life is moving from plans and drawings to construction, while the wider campus masterplan continues to take shape around it.
Through joined up strategy, steady coordination and practical design thinking, we are helping the University of Portsmouth build an estate that supports learning, strengthens community and positions the institution for long term success.
We are delighted to be working closely with Ridge on what will become one of the most important buildings on our campus. ”
Tahir Ahmed
Director of Estates and Campus Services, University of Portsmouth
“The Student Hub will sit at the heart of campus life and represents a major milestone in delivering our Estate Masterplan and our vision for the future student experience.
“It is fantastic to have now broken ground and to see this significant project begin to take shape. We look forward to continuing our work with Ridge and watching the development progress.”
Let’s talk
You can read more about the University of Portsmouth’s masterplan or contact project lead Leonard Poon on lpoon@ridge.co.uk for more information.
