Structural and Civil Engineering
Working alongside Space Architects, BDN provided Civil and Structural engineering services for a student accommodation scheme, which comprised of a part demolition/part conversion of The Three Tuns Hotel Complex. The development combined the imaginative conversion of the former Three Tuns Hotel complex with new purpose-built accommodation to provide a unique and holistic facility with a total of 168 student study bedrooms and studios along with associated kitchens, lounges and social spaces.
Situated in the centre of Durham City, 3No. new blocks of student accommodation were created, each block varying between 4 and 5 storeys. The full Grade I listed site was located in the Durham City Conservation Area, a prestigious city centre location which proposed site challenges. There was a neighbouring church and police station, meaning careful consideration was therefore given to the proposed foundation solution to ensure there were no party-wall issues. Each block has been designed as a composite structure with lightweight gauge steel infill walls.
The new build blocks are linear in form, following the lines of the medieval burgage plots that once occupied the site, and have differing roof heights. This roofscape respects the massing of the existing buildings across the site and was carefully refined to allow key views of the World Heritage Site to be maintained. New courtyards were formed between the new blocks and existing buildings.
The listed site was fully restored, refurbished and remodelled to create high quality student facilities in a historical, popular University city, on a site rich with history.