Godiva Place Student Accommodation has been shortlisted in two categories of the West Midlands Celebrating Construction Awards - Building Project of the Year (submitted by Green PM) and Offsite Project of the Year (submitted by Sigmat). Godiva Place provides 772 bed spaces in a mix of cluster apartments and studios, with social spaces, communal study and private landscaped areas. The development is ideally located near the City centre and the University’s academic buildings, creating the University’s city centre campus.
The West Midlands Celebrating Construction Awards are open to both public and private sector organisations/projects based in the West Midlands and whose business is construction-related. Taking place at the ICC, Birmingham on Friday 12 April, the West Midlands CC19 Awards will bring together the industry and celebrate the best of the West Midlands region. These Awards are firmly established as a high point in the Midlands construction calendar, each year commanding the attention of industry professionals from across the Midlands and beyond.
The customers and stakeholders have been extremely complimentary of the scheme; students regularly refer to their accommodation as the ‘hotel’ whilst stakeholders discuss how the design eases management processes and supports the student experience. The building manager said the following;
‘Godiva Place has been designed with student life at the heart of the concept. Coventry University has just been voted number one for student experience and the student accommodation is reflective of this. We feel that Godiva Place only enhances the experience for our students. Godiva Place is innovative and has a boldness which sets it apart, as it has now become a striking addition to the architecture in Coventry. The exterior reflects the modern and forward-thinking nature of the university, but the interior is built with student experience at the forefront.’
Likewise, members of the public value the buildings exterior design, one individual said;
‘There's an argument that says architects (and architecture) are at their best when they have to respond to challenging circumstances. It is certainly better when there is an existing local context to respond to. In this case I'd say the architect has met that implicit brief extraordinarily well.’
