Faithful+Gould wins management contract on £44m university scheme

Project and cost management consultancy Faithful+Gould won the contract to manage the development of the new 661-bed student village at Loughborough University.

The scheme will see 617 new student beds delivered across nine blocks along with a central social ‘Hub’ building at its heart for informal meeting and flexible learning.

The star attraction, however, is the 44-bed Elite Athlete Centre Hotel, where 20 bedrooms will incorporate a unique pressurised air system to replicate high altitude/low oxygen conditions.

A further feature of the development will be the innovative “active landscaping”. Designed to promote residents and visitors to challenge themselves physically and move more using landscape features, the communal external areas will encourage people to engage in a variety of activities including sprinting, step challenges, table tennis, balancing skills and jumping.

“This is a very innovative and important development for the University that we’re delighted to be involved with,” says Tom Wallbank, Faithful+Gould’s head of cost management for the East Midlands and account director for Loughborough University.

“We have a long-standing relationship with the University and this flagship development allows us to continue that journey of delivering shared success stories.”

The Elite Athlete Centre and two of the student blocks are scheduled for completion by August 2018, with the remaining blocks and development completed by April 2019. Construction works started on site late last month with Faithful+Gould providing employer’s agent and cost management services.