James House

Location
Bath
Client
James House Ltd
Completion
2016
Size
169 bedrooms

Contemporary yet contextual student living in the heart of a conservation area

Sitting within the contextually sensitive Bath World Heritage site, James House provides 169 student bedrooms, in a combination of individual studios and shared townhouses.

Responding to both the informal ‘mews’ character of the street to the north and the grander scale of the city’s historic station buildings, the accommodation is characterised by a restrained contemporary design approach.

The use of high quality natural materials – Bath stone and a modern palette of zinc and bronze cladding complements the surrounding area, with careful consideration given to the detailing. Deep stone reveals give the building a feeling of permanence and make visual reference to the adjacent former railway terminal building, as well as providing a subtle means of concealing ventilation.

Its central location and high levels of thermal insulation make the development inherently sustainable. Its environmental impact is reduced further by installing photovoltaic panels on roofs and providing space for future connection into a local Combined Heat and Power (CHP) network.

Positive student wellbeing was a key driver in developing the designs of internal spaces, with studio layouts developed into ‘zones’ to ensure optimal levels of space for cooking, relaxing, sleeping and studying. The scheme provides good natural daylighting throughout with full height bedroom windows.

James House also incorporates a number of communal facilities, including a gym, common room, and study rooms alongside more informal ‘break-out spaces’. Externally the central courtyard spaces were designed in conjunction with our landscape team to have an urban yet intimate feel, again with high quality materials used throughout.

In developing the design we engaged in a series of detailed discussions with the Local Authority, who are supportive of the scheme as an exemplar of contemporary, contextually aware design.

“Our intention from the outset was to deliver a scheme that provides the very best environment for students to live and study as well as maximising  the value of this prime site in the heart of Bath. Stride Treglown have helped deliver a scheme which provides the best possible facilities for students, whilst creating a striking design which sets a benchmark for student accommodation in the centre of the city.”

James Pearce, James House Ltd