Hatch Student Accommodation in Ireland by Kingston Lafferty Design.

Traditionally student accommodation has been less than inspiring. That all changed the minute Kingston Lafferty Design (KLD) got stuck into Hatch, a new student accommodation brand in Cork, Ireland. Instead of providing a practical and, let’s face it, fairly dismal accommodation experience, lacking all the creature comforts of home, Hatch was designed to provide exciting social spaces along with multi-functional environments that cater to changing needs. Not to mention, making sure it looked it damn fine in the process.

After carrying out the research to ascertain the key requirements for students in the city, collecting profiles on age and cultural backgrounds, they determined most students were from overseas. In a lot of cases, the students were unfamiliar with the city and were moving out of home for the first time.

“The word Hatch evokes many meanings. The concept looked at the process of growth; growing up, hatching and breaking out of your shell. We wanted to encourage this metamorphosis and provide a dynamic environment that stimulated overall happy living, tailoring the creative space to the students’ needs and wants,” said KLD.

They designed the accommodation to include informal living, working, socialising, wellness and play spaces to cater to the Millennial and Generation X’s current way of living. Blurring the lines between work, play, sleep, social and wellbeing, KLD created a series of environments to satisfy multiple requirements, a diverse range of users and overall delivering a more holistic, collaborative series of spaces.

The nest is the focal point of the design. It’s a multi-functional tiered seating area which provides a comfy cinema or event space to sit in. While outside the nest provides a casual co-working space that doubles as an event space for parties and seminars. The ceiling above the nest seating has suspended white, cracked eggshell elements, cocooning the occupants below.

The use of mirrored surfaces creates dynamic reflections while wandering down the concrete effect flooring into different zones; the grass chill-out areas, the café dock, reception hub, games, study, canteen and co-working areas. Playful elements are incorporated throughout including custom lollipop tree lights and indoor trees.

KLD worked to a limited budget, so they had to put their thinking caps on to make use of low cost but hard-wearing materials for the build. They used a strong and simple colour palette, focusing on raw, natural and timeless materials with an emphasis on the indoor, outdoor connection. Monochrome branding blends the graphic and wayfinding elements with the interior.

Strong graphics are used to dramatically zone areas. The application of bold black and white stripes in reception, on the floor and walls, is theatrical and contemporary, but it doesn’t overwhelm the user’s capacity to navigate the space. Students can easily see the nest area from the reception and the accommodation area straight ahead, and then, of course, the delightful pastel green-tiled tunnel, enticing visitors into another visual adventure.

The tunnel is a key design element which links to the canteen area. It cleverly houses concealed integrated booth areas for meetings and catch-ups, with a full study and games area hidden on the side.

“It was important to create hidden nooks and areas for people to hide away in, rather than all areas being visible at the same time. We wanted to provide broad functionality at all times while making the journey throughout the space a fluid and exciting discovery of its own,” concludes the design team.

Student accommodation never looked so on point!

See more projects from Kingston Lafferty Design on Yellowtrace here.