What Do Students Want?
With close to 100,000 students Manchester has one of the largest student populations in the UK. It is vibrant, culturally diverse and bustling with good energy, so was the perfect place for us to conduct some research and find out… what do students really want?
As designers, we must know who we are designing for and what they want, so at Nelson and Long we make it our priority to get out and engage with the new cohort and spark conversations. This year we hit up Oxford Road and spent the day interviewing a mix of students from the University of Manchester and Manchester Met University.
First let’s start with something that is evident every year – one size does not fit all, as to be expected.
And this year more than ever before, we were met with the response of … ‘I’m living at home’, which is not surprising at all considering the cost-of-living crisis. A lot of UK students simply can’t afford to live in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), which is sad to learn, as living in halls is a massive part of most people’s university experience and it’s a shame a lot of students are missing out on this and the opportunity to live independently. The PBSA model, cost wise needs looking at to draw these UK students back.
We found a lot of Chinese students were enticed by the amenities and the properties they reside at were recommended by a friend, a great nugget of information for a provider, if you want to retain or get good occupancy levels then keep your existing customers happy (makes sense)!
Valo, 18
It’s great to see a diverse population of students in Manchester, however the PBSA model favoured students with bigger budgets and seemed to deter the majority of the UK students we spoke to. Prices ranged from £180- £245 a week, more than most mortgages, so how do we get the costs down in terms of design?
1. Budget led/less materials (lower build cost, bulk buy, selective palette)
2. Simpler design (more formulaic)
3. Be creative (value conscious, unique design led materials)
4. More collaboration, engage with different design practices/creatives (innovative, sustainable ideas, think outside the box, engage with more people with a common goal to better student accommodation)
5. More refurbs/refit (appreciate what is there, retain, reuse, refresh)
In terms of design, the key points that stuck out to us were that students wanted spaces to personalise, a place to call home. They also were not a fan of the use of primary colours in the bedroom and thought they took over the space (hence harder to personalise). A lot of students thought that their communal kitchen spaces seemed like an afterthought and wanted a large open plan kitchen with an island, sufficient storage, and fridge space. We asked them if money was no object what they would want? The majority wanted larger bedrooms and a variety of amenities that allowed for different sized groups and highly maintained décor. We also asked if they were being very economical, what would they want? They answered… a bedroom design considerate to their needs, ample kitchen and study space – so there was a reoccurring theme of bedroom design we found. Also first year students repeatedly said that their desk space in their rooms were quite big, as their workload was small compared to a third year student, where that amount of desk space would be warranted, yet again a reference to bedroom design. A lot of time and resource go into the design of the amenity spaces, but the common consensus with the students we spoke to is that they want a well-designed bedroom and flat area, so maybe these spaces are overlooked in some schemes? They did also appreciate the amenity spaces, but these were often high spec, so they were unlikely to complain.
Emily 19 & Zara 18
We discussed a broad subject matter ranging from aesthetics (of course) to economics and there were reoccurring themes and ideas within the data which were… affordability, design, community and location, so these are the pillars that the students clearly care about and need further exploration to ensure we are surpassing their expectations.
On a more alarming note, someone referred to where they were living as a prison cell, which is scary. No matter what the prices are, students should be getting suitable accommodation to thrive in. Understandably the more you pay, the better the offering is, but there needs to be a baseline offering that is fair and adequate, as this could potentially divide students. Maybe providers could invite neighbouring students from other halls to use their facilities (a membership system), to build that community?
Benji 18
A few students lived in or liked the idea of catered halls which could help with the cost-of-living crisis, as it doesn’t seem to be plateauing and wages are not increasing enough to offset the difference. So, in terms of accommodation a student may feel a part catered or fully catered PBSA property is appealing, so they get the best of both worlds, safe in the knowledge that their accommodation and majority of food is included - a blended model. And with part catering, a couple of days a week they can cook themselves (learn social skills) and take the pressure off. Local vendors could be invited to cater so it’s also a culturally educational experience, helps local and small businesses, plus instils community spirit and social value, so tick, tick and tick again.
It's great to see and engage with people who want to better the student experience. Not every choice will be a success, we all have to know that, as one size does not fit all, but it’s all about showing up, listening, learning, implementing, and trying to change the future of student accommodation with the information we have now.
Zoe 19