Winvic Starts The New Academic Year in Oxford

Multidisciplinary main contractor Winvic Construction Ltd. continues its expansion in the multi-room sector, as work starts on site to deliver a 515 bedroom development for student accommodation provider Student Castle. The high specification accommodation, adjacent to Oxford’s city centre railway station, will comprise flats, one bed studios and ‘twodios’, and will be completed in summer 2020.

The multiple buildings within the three principal blocks will be constructed using a reinforced concrete frame, will range from five to six storeys and will also house a gym, games area, lounge, private meeting rooms, roof terraces and a store for 290 bikes. Inspiration for the external design has been taken from Oxford’s rich medieval history and its famous collegial quadrangles, and will feature courtyards, gardens, cloisters and colonnades. Four storeys on the north side of block A will be cantilevered and the development’s façade will be created from glass reinforced concrete panels.

“Starting on site to construct this 515 bedroom project is practically exciting as Winvic will be kickstarting an important regeneration project in the heart of historic Oxford on behalf of Student Castle Ltd.”

Mark Jones, Winvic’s Director for Multi-room

Glass reinforced concrete is an innovative, BREEAM A+ rated material that is approximately 80% lighter than pre-cast steel reinforced concrete cladding and is more environmentally friendly, due to the reduced CO2 emissions during the manufacturing process.

The scheme is the first project to break ground within the large gateway redevelopment of the Oxpens area which when complete will comprise commercial, leisure and community uses, and flood mitigation works. The Student Castle development’s open spaces will form green links to the city centre as well as Oxpens meadow and beyond.

Mark Jones, Winvic’s Director for Multi-room, commented: “Starting on site to construct this 515 bedroom project is practically exciting as Winvic will be kickstarting an important regeneration project in the heart of historic Oxford on behalf of Student Castle Ltd. We will be using innovative construction materials, liaising with a large number of stakeholders, negotiating the bordering railway and creating a high-spec and quality finish during fit-out; Student Castle is another complex scheme that requires the skills we have in abundance, which can be added to Winvic’s ever growing list of multi-room projects.”

Jacqui Hawthorn, Chief Operating Officer at Student Castle Limited, added: “Since 2010, Student Castle have opened schemes in Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Newcastle and York each one tailored to the city and its students. An additional three sites are under construction in Durham, Oxford and Brighton completing in 2019/20 respectively.

Student Castle places great emphasis on securing the most suitable and sustainable locations for their prospective students, and also provide accommodation which is designed and managed in a way that meets the needs of students on-site. This allows prospective students the opportunity to live in modern and safe accommodation within close proximity to their college or university, whilst also ensuring that students get the most out of their university experience. Student Castle has shown innovation within this sector with an extremely high standard of accommodation in a variety of contemporary layouts that respond well to the needs of the 21st Century student.

For further information about Winvic, please visit www.winvic.co.uk and follow @WinvicLtd on Twitter. To watch the on-site development of Student Castle Oxford, view the camera feed at Winvic Live.