Ocon has been selected as preferred bidder for the 1,259 unit 'Crown Place' scheme following a demanding two stage open tender, impressing the client by modifying the BREEAM Excellent design brief to include 200 additional units on the same footprint.

The new scheme once again demonstrates the University’s commitment to meeting Government carbon reduction targets and will create a new landmark building on the eastern approach to the University.

The design & build project, designed by Lewis & Hickey Architects, comes as Ocon's work on the University of Liverpool's £34 million 'Chatham Street' scheme draws to a close. Once completed in August 2014, Crown Place will bring the total number of student bedrooms constructed by Ocon for the university to 2,008.

Located on Brownlow Hill in the centre of the University of Liverpool’s city campus, Crown Place will be constructed on the site of the university’s former veterinary school, which will relocate to a new building, currently nearing completion. Work will begin on site this month when the veterinary school has moved across to its new facilities and Ocon will then demolish the existing building, recycling the fabric of the former veterinary school as piling material for the new student living development.

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A mix of studios and en-suite bedrooms in clusters of 5-8 rooms, the Crown Place scheme will also include 29 larger studio apartments for occupation by live-in pastoral 'tutors', who will be full time residents on site to provide support to students. The development will be constructed in three main buildings, each rising between seven and 10 storeys. Building One includes a number of retail units on the ground floor along with a large social space, games room and laundry built around the scheme’s admin hub. Building Two includes undercroft car park.

All three buildings will be of concrete frame construction with a mix of brickwork, curtain walling and GRC cladding. The development's close proximity to the main rail line serving Liverpool Lime Street, which runs partially underground adjacent to the site, will also require vibration monitoring during the building operations. Environmental specification to help the building achieve its BREEAM Excellent status includes green roofs and a heating system that will run off spare capacity from the university’s existing district heating infrastructure, requiring no new plant.

(CD)