Stelling Properties is putting in 121 studio apartments in Southampton city centre using factory-made modular components.
At 31 High Street in Southampton, Stelling is bringing a fire damaged building back to life after it remained derelict for more than a decade. The Portland stone façade of the former Bank of England building has been restored and other parts of the original building have been retained including the original vaults in the basement.
The five-storey scheme will provide 121 self-contained studio apartments that will be operated by Unilife Student Living. They are due for completion later this year.
Steel-framed, eight-metre long modules contain a single apartment and arrived on site completely finished, with kitchenettes, shower rooms, fitted and loose furniture, flooring, doors, and glazing already in place. They were manufactured by Stelling at its factory in Winchester.
These were then transported to Southampton and, with each weighing up to 12 tonnes, lifted into position by King Lifting with 230-tonne capacity mobile crane over a six-week installation phase.
To complement the local architecture and reflect the heritage aesthetic of the retained façade, the studio apartments will be finished in light stone-coloured external cladding.
The final phase of construction will include mechanical and electrical connections on site, fitting out the extensive social and amenity spaces for residents in the original retained part of the building, roofing works, solar panel installations and landscaping of a large roof terrace.
Stelling Properties chief operating officer Dan Smith said: “This high-profile project follows another modular student scheme that we have already delivered on Southampton High Street, and we are about to start a third. These developments are an important part of the regeneration of the city centre.”
He continued: “31 High Street has been a hugely challenging and constrained site to develop. It demonstrates the enormous potential of offsite construction and our technical capabilities very well. The site is completely enclosed on three sides, which would have been extremely difficult for in-situ construction as there is no storage space for plant, materials or equipment.
“This is a locally listed building in a conservation area but with a fantastic modular design developed by our inhouse team and the retained Portland stone façade, it will blend sympathetically into the locality.
“Speed of construction was absolutely critical to reduce disruption in the city centre. By manufacturing and fully fitting out the apartments offsite, we reduced time on site by around 50%. The tremendous progress so far is a real credit to our design, production and site teams.”
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