Creating a student complex using modular micro-dwellings

Abstract

As land available for development is dwindling fast, prices for both leasing and purchase of property in the vicinity of the University of Malta are constantly rising, creating an even further problem for students with a low income who are seeking low cost lodgings. The aim of this dissertation was primarily to design contemporary and comfortable micro dwellings for foreign students who attend the university in the vicinity of the campus that are affordable to rent for medium to long lets. The dwellings are modular standardised units that will be both stacked and adjacent to one another. Another aspect of this project was to address and cater for as many students’ requirements as possible through a carefully planned design that ensures maximisation of space within the limited footprint available. In order to capture the most critical requirements, a focus group was organised with twelve students through a codesign approach, during which they were encouraged to provide feedback and sketches of draft plan layouts of their needs through a workshop session. The main finding of the study was that, apart from habitable dwellings, each category of students needed a working area tailored to their specific needs depending on the course they were following. In order not to compromise the original concept of identical, modular micro-dwelling units, the various specific working areas would be grouped together in a different complex that would be close to, but separate from, the micro-dwellings. The final design of the dwellings and complex was built using pre-fabricated concrete modules and was a combination of both my original plan and the feedback gathered from the students themselves based on a human centred approach which incorporated many of their suggestions as potential final clients of the project.