Construction World December 2023

APEX STUDIOS – STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

T he development houses 901 students over 13 storeys in a new residential building which consists of a variety of unit types, each with private shared bathroom and kitchen lending itself to an apartment style of living. The units range from 1,2,3 and 4 bedrooms with minimal shared rooms in the overall scheme. In this regard the students connect with fellow roommates whilst benefitting from a more private communal area. The existing heritage building has been restored and extensively refurbished to create a communal hub for the scheme with a variety of study and social spaces for different activities and group sizes. The raw, modularised materials of the existing building influenced the new residential building. The use of concrete, facebrick and colour, create a sophisticated yet playful new architectural language, interpreting the geometry of the existing architectural style through a contemporary lens. Whilst the indoor common areas become the hub, the external zones are interwoven between the common and residential areas to allow for constant access to nature. Students traverse the site horizontally and vertically to occupy these break out, play and socializing areas. Thus, the scheme is constantly activated, creating the opportunity for more connections between students to develop. The fully let student accommodation scheme is testament that not only is student accommodation a necessity in this area but, that this proposal has provided an affordable, aspiring and sustainable lifestyle option to these students. Due to the cost and time constraints of the project, it was critical that the structure of the new building was designed to be both cost effective and allow the contractors to build at an unusually fast pace. The slabs are designed to be a minimal thickness to ensure it was cost sensitive and this also allowed for pouring times to be reduced. Located 300 m from the WITS main entrance makes it ideal from a safety point of view. The location also encourages an integration between WITS and the scheme – Discussions have already been held between the parties as to how they can work collaboratively to mutually benefit the students. The concept for the existing building was to create a communal hub for the scheme with a variety of study and play spaces for different activities and group sizes. Individual tasks require different atmospheres, and these spaces have been positioned with adjacencies to support the various activities. Flexibility within a student community is key to enable the students and operators to appropriate and customise their personal and common spaces. Fixed furniture is limited so that spaces can be easily transformed as needed. A consistent palette throughout means the furniture can be repositioned in other areas and still look appropriate. The courtyard is also multi-functional with bench seating on the perimeter and a platform to the side creating a central

events space. It was of utmost importance that the building would achieve full accreditation with the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as EDGE accreditation/rating (similar to GBCSA rating) as this was the benchmark for any projects to be part of the portfolio. The heritage aspect of the site was critical as the development needed to respond and celebrate the existing building and this drove many of the design decisions. 

• Company entering: GASS Architecture Studios • Architect: GASS Architecture Studios • Developer: Growthpoint Student Accommodation Holdings • Project Manager: Betapoint Management Consultants • Structural Engineer: Sutherland Engineers • Civil Engineer: Sutherland Engineers • Quantity Surveyor: DelQS • Main Contractor: Concor Construction PROJECT INFORMATION

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22 nd Best Projects Awards 2023