Flinders Hall

A new accommodation block was built in response to increasing student numbers at the Showground Campus of Bishop Burton College. This provides thirty-nine en-suite student bedrooms, including three accessible rooms and social spaces, in a building that has been designed to have low operational energy use.

The new accommodation block is surrounded by a range of building types with varied uses. The detail and architectural language utilise a simple linear pitched roof form with a restrained palette of robust materials, including architectural masonry, western red cedar and zinc. The architectural language helps unify the design within a vast array of building forms and a variety of materials that are evident within the campus.

The building is orientated north-south with a central corridor that serves the bedrooms. The orientation allows the accommodation to enjoy the morning and evening daylight while minimising overheating. The social space is positioned in a separate wing with a south-facing orientation to maximise solar gain and views over the open countryside.

This project embodies sustainable materials and construction methodologies where possible to create a development that has a minimal environmental impact on its immediate and wider context. The “fabric first” approach combined with an airtight construction has led to a very low heating requirement that is powered by the photovoltaic panel array.