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Remember those ghastly rooms you had back in your university days? Hand in hand with massive hikes in the cost of getting a degree is a new generation of high-quality student accommodation, reports Veronica Simpson.

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Imagine yourself entering in a waterfront apartment block in Seattle. The polished concrete floor of the entrance lounge reflects dancing flames from an open fire, beside a low-slung, contemporary sofa. Jazz is playing softly in the background and the smell of fresh-roast coffee is wafting across from the cafe in the lounge, while perched on the high cafe stools are bright young things, chatting, scrolling through their iPads and sipping flat whites and skinny decaf lattes. Welcome to the social hub of the University of Washington's newest student accommodation block - one that boasts a gym, cycle workshops and even an urban farm where students can grow their own veg.

Student accommodation, 21st-century style, is a far cry from the bog standard blocks of cheaply built 'affordable' flats of yesteryear, with leaky windows, multiple bedrooms served by one small bathroom and kitchen, and furnished with the cheapest off-the-shelf contract furniture that offered neither style nor quality. A massive shake-up in student accommodation has been happening across the world, prompted by increasing student mobility and greater competition between institutions both nationally and internationally. The design of facilities is a key part of how colleges package and sell their 'student experience', and commercial developers have entered the marketplace, aiming to create a more differentiated offer.

And the cream of UK architecture and design practices have been spearheading this student revolution, including Levitt Bernstein, whose MD Matthew Goulcher charts its progress thus: 'The historic providers of student accommodation were the colleges themselves, with the emphasis on affordability. Over the years, the price of accommodation has gone up and up until commercial developers have seen that there's a shortage of good-quality apartments; the sorts of rents that even universities were charging now make it viable for them to enter the market; and a lot of students now are from overseas.' It's this latter group that bring the biggest revenue to colleges (which can charge triple the fees they ask of the indigenous students). And many of these students expect and can afford to pay for a better standard of living space. Developers and universities have also twigged that well-designed, nicely appointed apartments for students in term time give them the edge when it comes to winning conference business during the summer holidays.

With views on to the college's landscaped gardens, the split-level common room has been upgraded with a ramped link, a bar area and new contemporary furniture.

But is the quality overwhelmingly good? It was, after all, a new block of student housing that was awarded Building Design magazine's Carbuncle Cup in 2013. The offending building - 465 Caledonian Road - was deemed by judges to be the ugliest British building to be completed in the past 12 months. Its offences include replacing a historic red brick warehouse (retaining just one wall of the original facade) with a block that 'the jury struggled to see as remotely fit for human occupation'. The bedrooms were said to lack adequate daylight, offering little privacy, and the loose attachment of the original facade to the block behind it left residents of those rooms with no actual views outside.

Designed by UK firm Stephen George and Partners for a developer working with UCL, does this represent the nasty face of student accommodation - a cavalier disregard for student tenants? Goulcher feels the building's criticism may have been unfair. 'You can have good-quality accommodation inside a building that looks like a dog from the outside,' he says. The developer in question generally strives to meet most of the standards that other, less-pilloried student buildings offer, says Goulcher. And by and large, he insists, the quality of student accommodation is a great deal better than it was.

Davinder Bansal, a director at Glenn Howells Architects, says: 'Just like in general housing, when a boom starts you get schemes dealing in numbers and offering quantity not quality.

I think we've seen some really awful housing schemes being thrown up. But the thing is, they have such a short life span. So what we are seeing now is that student-housing providers are building quality products. Like with most developers they understand commercial reality, they understand that competition, added value; all of this is vital.'

Student rooms are all en suite, with Aalto desk chairs and generous glazing.

Claire Hodder, MD of Hodder and Partners - which last year earned an RIBA regional award for its student accommodation tower Great Marlborough Street in Manchester - feels that one of the key drivers for improvement is the widespread desire for en-suite bathrooms: 'A lot of universities would have accommodation without en suites and they now find these difficult to shift. A lot of students now like studios instead of clusters. However, one of the biggest attractions is what the broadband provision is.'

But since the massive hike in UK fees has put university or college out of reach for many UK would-be further education students, Bansal has seen a growing demand for buildings that meet a range of budgets. 'We're finding that it's better if we give people choices - sharing a bathroom with two or three other people is acceptable. It's what we do when we share a house. And it makes the accommodation more affordable.'

The biggest shift Bansal sees is the need for flexible spaces for all social and work needs: 'In the best environments, people can socialise as well as have their own private spaces. Some of these schemes even have work spaces - students can book meeting rooms where they might work as a group. They want grown-up places, particularly as the boundaries between business and industry and education are really breaking down.' Some of the student housing GHA is looking at in Birmingham is offering small studio and business units so that, as they go through college, students can start building connections with the professional world they hope to enter.

But the argument for better buildings, better fixtures and fittings and more flexible and aspirational, robust spaces, ultimately comes down to common sense. Says Bansal: 'Student housing is the one type of building that has a shortest lifespan if you get it wrong. What's more, our approach to students now is that they are not a different species, they are a future generation of leaders. Good housing for them is as important as providing a good house for a family of four. That seriousness and consideration is important. It changes attitudes and builds social skills.'

Student Castle. Great Marlborough Street - Hodder and Partners

Student buildings are now clearly part of an education for life, rather than 'ivory tower' cocoons to protect them from reality.

Mercer Court, University of Washington
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCB) joined forces with Seattle-based Ankrom Moisan Architects (AMA) to create a whole new accommodation 'village' for the University of Washington in Seattle. With a waterside location but in an industrial-looking part of the city, the University's concern for the accommodation (for 930 students) was for it to be a desirable and welcoming place, with greater choice and quality of living space than the group dormitory norm.

FCB's solution provides five blocks, arranged as four five-storey structures fanning out from one long connecting building; in plan, the scheme resembles an open hand with fingers outstretched towards the water. The main plaza provides common circulation and a central gathering space, with landscaping - here and in courtyards between the buildings - by Gustafson Guthrie Nichols. The link building runs horizontally along a bicycle path, with an active pedestrian street reinforced by strong retail elements.

The positioning of the 'fingers' optimises light and maximises views for each of the units, ranging from studios to six-bedroom apartments. Bedrooms have shared living, dining and kitchen spaces arranged to maximise views over the bay. Units are grouped around stair/elevator cores providing access to a shared rooftop terraces and amenities at ground level including cafes, gyms, launderettes,and music practice and seminar rooms.

Glass and metal cladding are the main architectural components, with windows faceted to maximise views. Stretches of coloured rendering and ceramic tiling help identify each block. Common interior spaces are 'boutique-hotel quality', says FCB partner Rachel Sayers. AMA's interior scheme mixes industrial finishes like polished concrete floors with good-quality furniture, and a glassed-in open fire in the main cafe/lounge.

Client: University of Washington
Architecture: Feilden Clegg Bradley;
Interior design: Ancrom Moisan Architects
Size: 51,000 sq m
Construction value: £55m
Completed: 2012
Landscaping: Gustafson Guthrie Nichols

Harvey Court, Cambridge
One of the uK's most iconic mid-century buildings, Harvey Court is a Grade II listed student residence block in Cambridge designed in sir Leslie Martin's office, and attributed to Colin st John Wilson and Patrick Hodgkinson. It has a typical Martin-style four-square stepped-section structure, using high-quality brick and natural materials in contrasting textures. Levitt Bernstein Associates' refurbishment improves on it while respecting its legacy.

A complete renovation of the building envelope and facilities was required. A new main entrance, fully respecting the original design vocabulary, has been inserted and brick paving restored to the raised court. Windows have been replaced with double-glazed units within generous timber frames. The student rooms now have en-suite bathrooms, which makes them slightly smaller but still comfortable.

Two rooms are adapted for wheelchair users. Original Aalto fitted furniture has been retained and public areas refreshed with Artek furniture in sympathetic designs. Access is improved throughout the building, with a lift located by the new main entrance nearer the street. The common areas at ground level are also refurbished and improved. New corridors have been added through the ground floor, ramped to accommodate small changes of level and the original layout, and underused garages have been converted into a gym. Crucial repairs include waterproofing the terraces and podium roof and adding insulation to improve environmental performance.

Client: Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Architecture and Interiors: Levitt Bernstein
Cost: £7.5m
Completed: 2011

King's Cross High Rise


King's Cross High Rise

In July 2013, Glenn Howells Architects completed a 669- bed, high-rise student housing development for client Urbanest, a student housing specialist. This 24,000 sq m tower in King's Cross rises to 27 storeys with a 14 storey 'shoulder', and is said to be the tallest building in the ongoing King's Cross Central regeneration. Passively ventilated, the tower is designed to look and feel more like a hotel, with generous congregation spaces. The ground and first-floor podium contains a cafe and shop, cycle store, exhibition area, meeting suite, cash point and communal lounge area, where students can relax, study and socialise. Another similar space is on the 13th floor. Bedrooms are arranged on a modular grid with flexibility to suit a variety of configurations and budgets. There is a mixture of one-bed studios and clusters of three to eight-bed dorms, with shared living and dining space.

Bedrooms range in size from eight sq m to 25 sq m, some are en suite, but there are also mini clusters with bathrooms shared between two or three rooms. All bedrooms have under-floor heating, study desk, storage space, broadband and plenty of daylight from opening windows protected by perforated screens. Bathrooms and kitchens are high-spec. The building uses reconstituted stone panels, bronze-coloured window frames and high-quality glazing.

King's Cross High Rise

Rated BREEAM Excellent, the development wraps around a new courtyard space and sculpture garden, shared with the public, while residents also enjoy a number of sky gardens, including a south-facing terrace on the shoulder and one at the top of the tower. Half the accommodation has been leased to the London School of Economics, with the rest shared across other London universities.

Client: Urbanest
Architecture and interiors: Glenn Howells Architects
Cost: n/a
Area: 24,000 sq m
Completed: 2013

Great Marlborough Street - Hodder and Partners
Manchester's third tallest building, Great Marlborough Street, is a 37-storey tower for 540 postgraduate, mature and international students, and a landmark for the new urban quarter for the majority of the University of Manchester's teaching buildings and student housing. With its slim profile, it has been designed to complement the surrounding tall buildings while providing a marker for the nearby Oxford Road Station. At ground level, a sculptural 'podium' element provides views into and beyond the building through double-height glazing across the entrance, which is set back to leave room for a public pavement area, partially sheltered by the podium's soffit. A cluster of four towers rises above the podium, with variations in height and treatment to set up a dialogue with nearby landmark buildings.

Student Castle. Great Marlborough Street - Hodder and Partners

Room sizes and types vary, but start from a generous 18 sq m for a one-person studio to 26 sq m for a three-person flat. The top-floor triplex has three bedrooms and a rooftop living area with kitchen and dining space. All the flats have bespoke furniture and fittings, and solid work surfaces in kitchenettes, creating a more aspirational 'home from home' atmosphere. Hodder and Partners' MD Claire Hodder praises client Student Castle for its commitment to creating a high-quality building - both internally and out. Says Hodder: 'It's been full since it opened - and some students have already signed up for another year.'

Client: Student Castle
Architecture: Hodder and Partners
Cost: £28.5m
Completed: 2012

University of Amsterdam
AHMM was appointed by the Netherlands' largest university, University of Amsterdam, to rationalise, reconfigure and revitalise its sprawling campus in 2007, in a masterplanned scheme that will continue to 2015. the most dramatic intervention completed so far, with a massive impact on the usage and enjoyment of key social and study spaces, is the radical surgery performed on two utilitarian buildings from a previous era (part of Norbert Gawronski's original semi-completed masterplan). These have been cut open, sections stripped out and interiors completely reconfigured. One building, which hung low across one of the city's canals, has had the canal-spanning section lifted out to create an inviting void, revealing views to the campus behind and the zoo beyond. Bridged by a glazed, double-height space and five storeys of workstations, occupants now enjoy views across the canal and the cityscape.

University of Amsterdam

A previously solid wall has been punched through to create an entry into a new triple-height passage between these two blocks, to guide users directly to the various circulation cores. Translucent rooflights and inward facing balconies create life and light in this passage as it gathers, orientates and distributes staff and visitors. Department houses are stacked vertically to improve navigation across the long floor plan, with retained columns now painted and colour coded by department. Mini atria, attached to the vertical circulation cores, enhance wayfinding and socialising. Lift lobbies face outwards so those arriving can see where they are, both in the landscape and building.

Meanwhile, a new walk bridge connects the city's canals and neighbouring streets to a series of public rooms and commercial spaces at the buildings' edges.

Client: University of Amsterdam
Architecture and Interiors: AHMM
Total project value: £77m
Dates: 2007-2015