Injecting life into our CBDs: Why students are the pathfinders for safe and more activated cities

Young people are the heartbeat of our cities. Motivated by a desire to explore the city around them, students are critical to how our cities operate, function, and thrive.

The Australian CBD narrative has shifted to prioritise diverse and active city centres driven by community and connection. As architects and designers, we must nurture this organic evolution and consider the ways different typologies can influence how these central locations are used and enjoyed.

Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) creates a myriad of opportunities for our cities to be diversified and revitalised. With a desire to be social and interact with their environment, students are drawn outwards and away from their place of residence to engage with others and their surroundings.

For over two decades, Melbourne has embraced the opportunity to let student housing drive its revitalisation. As one of Australia’s only CBDs that is alive and seen as a final destination on weekends, Melbourne can owe some of its success to the inclusion of PBSA in the 90s.

Adelaide has since followed suit, delivering student accommodation into a city centre that has long been a business-focused location. Rothelowman is pleased to have contributed to this through the development of GSA’s Yugo North Terrace. Located in Adelaide’s city centre, this facility infuses liveliness throughout the CBD, creating a vibrant energy, which draws people into the city to work and play.

Similar strategies have influenced the development of student accommodation in Australia’s west. The Rothelowman-designed UniLodge facility at 609 Wellington Street will provide more than 800 beds for students looking to study in the heart of Perth. This project is designed to provide a flexible, well-connected, and sophisticated living option for the students of Perth, but also to ignite the city centre with new energy.

 

In Australia’s most populous state, the approach to student housing takes a different focus. To repurpose Sydney’s forgotten business parks, there has been a push to deliver student housing in suburban locations.

Macquarie Park, 16km from Sydney CBD, is home to a residential precinct only moments from Macquarie University. Offering students a ‘live on campus’ experience, the Rothelowman-designed modern student college will contribute to a suburban CBD core that is in tune and cognisant of the surrounding natural landscape.