The project comprises a new quad of four individual buildings arranged around a courtyard garden. Three and four storeys in height, they accommodate 134 en-suite student bedrooms clustered as individual flats with six rooms sharing a kitchen and dining room.

The accommodation is low maintenance, low energy and robust and aims to:

•Enable an excellent student living experience

•Optimise the site by achieving high standards of access, design and minimising energy use

•Support Wadham College’s commercial strategy.

The design is aimed to well exceed Oxford’s sustainability targets. All buildings optimise energy efficiency by minimising the use of energy throughout the design, layout, orientation, landscaping and materials. The strategy includes:

•Orientating the building east-west

•Natural ventilation via attenuated acoustic vents to reduce background noise from the Iffley Road

•Combined heat and power

•Delivering a proportion of renewable or low carbon energy on site; solar photovoltaics

•Incorporating recycled or reclaimed materials

•Minimising water consumption by incorporating appropriate design and technologies

•Sustainable urban drainage.

Bidwells are project managers on the project.

Winner of two 2020 Oxford Preservation Trust Awards - for New Building and the inaugural Green Award, which recognises excellent work towards sustainability. The judges said: "The Dorothy Wadham Building has a very clear agenda for sustainable design. It is energy efficient, being environmentally responsive, and has been constructed to ensure longevity. The development also makes a real contribution architecturally to the urban context of Iffley Road."

A 2021 Civic Trust Awards Regional Finalist (South East).

* Winner of a RIBA National Award 2021 * https://www.architecture.com/awards-and-competitions-landing-page/awards/riba-regional-awards/riba-south-award-winners/2021/the-dorothy-wadham-building

A 2022 Civic Trust Awards Regional Finalist.