St Mary’s Student Accommodation and Mixed Use Development

This development is located in Southampton within a busy town centre environment, and falls within an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). Acoustics and ventilation strategy were therefore key design considerations. The development provides accommodation to 467 students with a student services office at lower ground floor and retail facilities at lower and upper ground floors. The building is served by a central plant room, located at lower ground floor, and connected to the Southampton District Energy Scheme to deliver the required heating and cooling demands of the development.

Elementa provided full mechanical, electrical, public health, sustainability, energy and engineering services on this project. A key requirement of the local council was to make full use of the local district heating main which we have done by creating a central distribution centre within the development. This not only allows the building to hit high energy efficiency targets but also significantly reduces the plant space requirements for the site.

Fire design was a key consideration on the project with a focus on a single core design for the towers, with single escape stairs to maximise the usable floor space. Elementa focused the energy strategy for the scheme to meet, and where economically viable for the client surpass, the sustainability targets for the project.