Full technical delivery of Exeter City Centre Student Accommodation and Hotel development with structural, civil and drainage services.

Renslade House is a prominent mid-rise building in Exeter City Centre and as such was the perfect location for student accommodation, being close to both the Quay and the University. The client wanted to repurpose the existing building to create high-end student accommodation with 240 rooms and shared spaces and a 130-room hotel.  Jubb worked with the client from pre-purchase stage to completion. Initially Jubb undertook detailed analysis and investigation work to review the condition of the existing building and work with the project team to develop proposals for the refurbishment and extension of the 10-storey structure.

The existing building is a reinforced concrete 10 storey tower with two 3 storey podium structures.

Jubb worked extensively with the design team to incorporate two additional floors and 4 and 5 storey extensions to the podium structures; along with numerous alterations to accommodate both the hotel and student accommodation. Jubb also provided Civil Engineering and Highways consultation for off-site works including public access and alternative improved transport links for pedestrians by providing an external staircase to the main road into Exeter City Centre.

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Jubb’s brief was to assess the building pre-purchase for viability and then lead the design of the integration of proposals within the existing structure.
The main challenge of the project was the effective strengthening of the existing concrete frame to accommodate the load of the two additional floors. Jubb explored various options and solutions including the use of composite wrapping to the existing columns.  We were also tasked with the issues of additional access requirements including a car park and walkway. All within a high traffic city-centre location.

We decided on a solution of steel columns and transfer beams as this option is the easiest to work with. We also decided to thread new primary shear walls through the existing building which were aligned with the new layout above and provided increased lateral stability. This innovative solution provided some interesting works for the project.

We were able to add value and save some budget with our innovative solutions to strengthen the structure and also the drainage solutions we recommended.

Jubb also provided geotechnical, structural and civil engineering services that included highways planning, drainage, S106 obligations overview and detailed design of car parking and footways.