Daniel Chow

Challenging the Role of Space in Post-Covid Student Accommodation

Living on campus grants students the opportunity to explore, challenge and learn from their surroundings and at the same time, develop new insights about themselves. COVID-19 has not only critically affected the student experience but also with self-isolation and social distancing measures in place, the wellbeing of students. Due to the rigid and con ned spaces of the current student housing typology, it provides limited access to the world around them, creating a strong disconnect between students and the outside world.

This thesis will explore new models of multi-storey student accommodation to provide an ideal living and learning environment in a dense vertical estate that provide the benefits of the world around with a priority of mental and physical wellbeing in mind. As such, the future framework will need to be re-imagined and adapted through the exploration of the role of indoor/outdoor spaces on a private and public level, the connection between built form, humans and nature as well as the integration of biophilic strategies.