The Spireworks Student Accommodation

New student development contributes to Oxford's Cowley Road

The Spireworks student accommodation is situated on Cowley Road — a vibrant and eclectic arterial route in the city of Oxford and the focus of retail and service facilities for the local community. In addition to 137 student bedrooms, the development provides various common areas such as a gym, TV room, games room, study spaces, laundry and communal kitchen. Outdoor amenity space is also integrated into the design across multiple levels via a courtyard plan arrangement, allowing students an active but intimate environment to sit and interact.

The student apartments are arranged over an existing Tesco Express supermarket operating at ground floor level, which was retained and improved, with only a very small part of the store needed to facilitate the entrance to the student accommodation above.

Prior to its redevelopment, the existing two-storey Tesco Express presented a blank and un-activated face towards Cowley Road. Its long unbroken facade of brick was home to numerous small recessed doorways which became the target of antisocial behaviour.

The redeveloped site sees a new active façade which improves the lighting and safety of the area, as well as the removal of cluttered street furniture (redundant bollards and phone boxes) – giving the street an overall uplift. This development reflects a holistic design approach which allows the new build to integrate seamlessly within the streetscape.