The first purpose built residences for the new Combined Universities in Cornwall provides accommodation for 500 students, arranged in 7 and 5 person flats, with 2 staff flats, 2 laundrettes and a porters lodge. The buildings form two fragmented curved terraces that run along the steeply sloping hillside, accessed off a central pedestrian spine and a one-way perimeter vehicle/pedestrian route. The natural fall of the hillside is used to gain access to the majority of flats direct from ground level so that each flat is accessible to wheelchair users without having to negotiate stairs or lifts. The terraces are terminated by taller blocks that turn through 90o and enclose two squares, which together with a third square in the centre of the scheme, provide the main meeting points for residents and serve as a focus for outside activities.
The buildings are timber framed and clad in a mixture of cedar boarding, natural slate tile hanging and self-coloured render. Areas of granite cladding form plinths to all buildings and provide a robust finish at ground level. At the western end of the development this stonework is taken further up the wall to act as a counterpoint to stone work on nearby buildings that include the listed Tremough House.