Client: Medway Residences Ltd End User: University of Greenwich Location: Medway, Kent Value: £4.5 million Form of Contract: JCT Design & Build Year of Completion: 2008 Architect: GDM Architects Located at the University of Greenwich's Medway Campus, now shared with the University of Kent, the Medway Halls scheme involved the creation of 144 student bedrooms and associated living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms, plus a warden's home. Built over three blocks they provide much needed accommodation for the thriving University. Provian Construction's proven educational expertise and ability to meet the economical yet functional brief secured the design and build contract. Working closely with architects GDM the first challenge was to find a building system that would allow completion of the project during the Summer vacation. Together, Provian and GDM chose a timber frame option as it gave the quickest erection of superstructure on an economical basis. Special bathroom pod units were installed in the blocks. Imported from France they are highly functional and economical as they are factory manufactured as complete units and simply craned into place. Each of the three student blocks stands four storeys high and is of timber frame construction on piled foundations. The frame was erected and the panels bolted together and sheathed with OSB. A mineral fibre external wall insulation was then applied and finished off with a breathable Marmorit Warm Wall render system. The warm wall render system,along with the insulation within the panels enabled Provian to reduce U-values from 0.35Wm2/K to 0.3Wm2/K. Making a strong design statement, the exterior of these blocks features plenty of glazing and low maintenance cedar cladding. Provian had to pay close attention to the sound proofing of the rooms, which are classed the same as residential apartments. To achieve adequate sound proofing between each room a resilient bar system was installed in the ceiling along with voids filled with acoustic insulation and an acoustic floating floor. At the same time, advanced fire protection was also incorporated into the structure.