George Henry Lees, Liverpool

Since John Lewis moved into their new premises in 2007, the upper floors of this once great department store have remained vacant. K2 Architects were approached by Grosvenor Estates with a view to casting a fresh pair of eyes over 4 redundant floors above the existing TK-Max store on Church Street in Liverpool.

Their response was to create a 127 bedroomed private student accommodation block, with a private concierge at ground floor along Basnett Street..

As the accommodation was to be aimed at short term european exchange students, K2 Architects looked into accommodation provided by twelve different universities across the continent. Their research concluded that a specification higher than that currently provided by the local universities was required.

Ensuring that the accommodation met with the local university standards, the 127 rooms were broken down into clusters of 6 incorporating 5 singles and 1 double room, centred around a social semi private lounge and dining area. The low value areas of the footprint were enhanced with games rooms, gyms and social areas.