Project Completion – College House, Bristol

College House in Bristol has now reached completion. It is a great example of how deep retrofit can successfully reshape an existing 1960s commercial building into high-quality student living.

Originally a steel-framed structure encased in concrete, with reinforced concrete rib and hollow clay pot floor and roof slabs, the building presented a familiar but demanding challenge: how to retain the integrity of the existing frame while completely reworking the internal environment and service routing for a new residential use.

The finished scheme delivers 57 post-graduate accommodation units for Hello Student, alongside shared amenity and support spaces designed to create a sense of independence, comfort and “home” within a dense city-centre location.

From a structural perspective, the key challenge lay in working within the constraints of the existing load-bearing frame and ribbed slab system, carefully accommodating new layouts, penetrations and service routes while respecting the limitations of the original construction.

Sustainability was central to the project from the outset, with the completed scheme achieving BREEAM Excellent and an EPC A rating, demonstrating what can be achieved when retrofit is properly coordinated across the full design team.

It’s also worth recognising the collaborative effort behind the delivery, working alongside Empiric Student Property plc and the wider consultant and delivery team, including Louis de Soissons Architects, Axiom Project Services, Parrish Consultancy and main contractor Michael Brady Ltd.

The result is a building that retains its structural backbone, but has been fundamentally redefined; extending the life of an existing asset while delivering a modern, efficient and comfortable living environment in the heart of Bristol.