Case study spotlight: National Star College
From conservation-sensitive town centre sites to high-tech smart homes, our work with National Star College has spanned a range of diverse and rewarding projects. Director John Everitt shares our journey so far.
Back in 2012, we were appointed by the National Star College (NSC) to design Bradbury Gardens, a 25-bed scheme for young adults with physical and learning disabilities. Fast forward to today and we have a
portfolio of transformative specialist care accommodation projects that we’re proud to have worked on
with the college.
National Star provides residential and day student provision for people with a range of physical, cognitive and emotional needs. Over the years, the college has needed to either construct new buildings or extend or refurbish/repurpose existing buildings to provide additional supportive learning and residential accommodation across its sites and we’ve been lucky enough to have worked on many of them.
OUR FIRST SCHEME, THE AWARD-WINNING BRADBURY GARDENS
NSC needed more residential accommodation, some term time, some for 52 weeks a year. The development site, known as Bradbury Gardens (pictured above and below), is tucked away in a conservation area in central Cheltenham. It is a fantastic location, adjacent to the Grade II listed Pittville Park, but it was a tricky site to design around. Tree protection orders, sewer easements, and tight boundaries meant the position of buildings had to be designed to accommodate the restrictions of the urban landscape as well as meeting the future residents’ needs.
The resulting scheme was a mixture of low level one and two storey homes carefully crafted to feel residential not institutional. These are arranged around sensory gardens and textured pathways to immerse them in an established landscape.
Creating a home from home environment continues inside. The rooms feature domestic finishes rather than medical grade fittings. Overhead hoist systems are concealed, storage solutions keep equipment safe when not in use and wet rooms combine style with functionality.
The design was led by Passivhaus principles with timber frame buildings, including features such as PV panels, MVHR systems and green roofs to create low energy sustainable homes.
In the same year that the £5m project completed, it was a regional winner in the Building Excellence Awards 2015 and the Civic Society Awards.
DEVELOPING AN ESTATE-WIDE MASTERPLAN
Following the successful delivery of Bradbury Gardens, our team developed an estate-wide masterplan focused on improving student accommodation, day learning and support spaces across National Star’s Ullenwood Site. The masterplan identified that some of the existing buildings could be repurposed, which meant less need for all new building works.
FROM DAY CENTRES TO SMART HOMES – PROJECTS ACROSS THE ULLENWOOD SITE
Once the estate masterplan was in place, we then began the process of delivering a variety of projects with minimal disruption to day-to-day activities. The campus needed to remain active in both its educational and residential capacities throughout the development.
In 2017, we delivered a new timber frame outdoor learning centre at the main campus in Ullenwood, which
was built to provide a new space for day students. It houses two classrooms, three personal care rooms and ancillary accommodation, providing a drop off centre for the day students, and a base to access all the external learning activities.
A year later, in 2018, a previous day student facility was repurposed to provide seven fully accessible bedrooms and communal living spaces. Each bedroom has an ensuite wet room constructed using a flooring and gully tanking system that prevents water seeping into the bedrooms. The large attic wasn’t suitable for residential accommodation. Instead it was converted to provide easily accessible additional storage.
In 2023, a new build 13-bed scheme was completed. It incorporates a smart home assessment suite with integrated assistive technology to help students and their families experience how smart tech may help them to live at home with greater independence.
DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SATELLITE SITE AT HEREFORD
Because of an increase in student numbers and the colleges desire to provide additional purpose-built teaching space, we secured planning for the Kite Centre, in Hereford. An old NHS building and 1980s bungalow were repurposed into a fully accessible residential and teaching facility for young adults, which completed in 2019. Neither of the buildings were fit for purpose and were reconfigured in phases – the bungalow was gutted first, followed by the main building. To make better use of the existing space, the main building was extended to add a new circulation area, including two lifts to provide accessible access to the second floor. The building also houses six classrooms and two personal care rooms, as well as additional storage space.
Most recently, we designed a further extension (pictured below / image courtesy of contractor CJ Bayliss). The new facility was completed in 2024 and provides three classrooms, including an accessible kitchen for life skills and two personal care rooms.
PLACING INDEPENDENCE AT THE HEART OF OUR DESIGN
All our schemes balance practical functionality with architectural sensitivity. It’s a team approach and early collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders, including the care providers and therapists, as well as the students and their families, ensures that we create spaces that fully meet the needs of all who use them.
The common driving ethos we share with National Star is to develop spaces that create the greatest opportunities to improve well-being, accessibility and independence for their students.
It's been a rewarding journey so far and we’re excited for what’s next.
The project team understand the needs of the young people we support and truly grasp the ethos and vision of the charity. That makes all the difference to a project like this. Not only will young people be able to live here comfortably and safely but the space will enable them to develop and thrive. David Ellis, Former National Star Chief Executive