Sancta Sofia

Orphan’s School Creek:
Sustainable Student Accommodation for Sancta Sophia College


University students perennially struggle to find appropriate, affordable accommodation. Living at home, living in a dodgy or overpriced flat, or living in purpose built student housing, are among the many options available to students. University college accommodation, located on campus, is perhaps the most privileged form of student accommodation in terms of its supportive environment and its immediate access to university facilities. This project aims to use the vehicle of college accommodation to explore the myriad issues associated with student accommodation. It aims to encourage students to challenge the traditional form of college accommodation from the perspective of environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic sustainability.

This is a real project. Sancta Sophia College is currently in the early stages of exploring options for expansion of their premises on (and perhaps even beyond) their site. Our client for the project is Dr Marie Leach, the principal of Sancta Sophia College, together with the students of the college, and all those studying, living and working on campus and in the wider urban environment around the college.

Scope of the Project

You will be required to develop a comprehensive brief from the substantial information that will provided from the client and other sources. Much of this information will be verbal and you should therefore be rigorous in your note taking and observations.

The essential element of the brief is new student residences.

Other major components of the projects might include:

  • Conference facilities
  • Urban agriculture
  • Affordable and/or indigenous accommodation
  • Parking and ancillary infrastructure

The Site

In terms of its site area, Sancta Sophia is one of the smaller university colleges. It has a long frontage onto Missenden Road and a small frontage onto Parramatta Road. There is however a real possibility of using the old convent site beside the college.

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