ISG has successfully completed the £38.8 million Wood Lane Studios scheme in London.

Developed by Voreda and Imperial College London, the building provides high-quality and highly sustainable accommodation for students and key workers.

Wood Lane Studios was constructed on the site of the BBC's former worldwide HQ site near White City. The BREEAM Excellent rated development comprises studio accommodation for 606 post-graduate students in four ten-storey blocks, which are linked at ground-floor level, alongside three timber-framed, three-storey residential buildings providing key worker accommodation.

The concrete-frame student accommodation blocks feature a range of attractive façade elements, including high-quality stone, aluminium and copper rainscreen cladding, with brick facing at ground level and glazed lift lobbies. The development has a spacious reception and common areas, with every studio apartment incorporating a private bathroom and kitchenette, along with communal and study areas. The aesthetically attractive key worker accommodation combines brickwork with cedar and copper rainscreen cladding, in addition to green and brown roofs, reinforcing the sustainable credentials of the development.

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Engaged on the project at an early stage in the design process, ISG worked collaboratively with Voreda and Imperial College London to add value to the scheme from both a commercial and environmental perspective. ISG also worked closely with the supply chain to drive value engineering, quality and the aesthetic imperative of the scheme.

Innovations such as the creation of an on-site cladding workshop to enable cladding elements to be custom-built on site, the adoption of traditional and flat slab construction methods and the use of natural stone rainscreen cladding proved simpler, more efficient approaches and provided enhanced consistency across the build.

ISG's Stuart Deverill, managing director – London, commented: "This scheme demonstrates how a creative approach to development can unlock the assets of education providers to deliver construction projects that are commercially viable, environmentally responsible and beneficial to the local economy.

"The impressive level of demand at Wood Lane Studios demonstrates the clear appetite for well-designed, high-quality student accommodation. ISG has made a tangible and proactive contribution to developing the design parameters of this scheme in terms of both the construction methods and the materials used, and we are delighted that our experience in both the residential and corporate sectors enabled us to take such a significant role in delivering this landmark scheme."

(CD)