Student Life. Unified
Edge Hill University had a problem. Brilliant campus. Brilliant people. But no unified centre for student activities. When it came to places to hold events and socialise, options were thin on the ground. Ormskirk, where the university is based, is a lovely market town, but it's hardly buzzing at midnight, and students were feeling it.
It matters more than it might seem. Research consistently shows that strong social connectedness is one of the most significant contributors to student mental wellbeing, and with more than one in five UK university students now carrying a mental health diagnosis, the pressure on campuses to create environments where students genuinely want to spend time has never been greater. A Students' Union isn't just an amenity. It's infrastructure for belonging.
So when Edge Hill Students' Union asked us to help imagine a new purpose-built home for student life, we went big. Three floors big. A building that doesn't just fill a gap, but becomes the beating social heart of campus.
Listen First. Design Later
This project started with a deep dive, consultations with SU leaders, student representatives, society leads, and staff teams. Workshops, walk-throughs, wish-list sessions. We asked what students were missing, what they were craving, and what they needed to thrive.
The message was loud and clear. More energy. More social space. More choice. A place that brings everyone together, from the night owls to the gamers to the quiet coffee-and-a-chat crowd.
To firm up the brief we created a comic book story based on a day in the life of a group of Edge Hill students and how the building becomes another character in their day to day stories.
It was clear we'd need to build in flexibility. For spaces to be multi-functional, adaptable, able to shape shift easily. Our interior strategy for the new three-storey Students' Union building answers that call in full.
Three Storeys of Creative Energy
On the ground floor, everyday student buzz is the engine: a welcome kiosk, a campus shop stacked with something for everyone, a beauty stall, gaming zones, reading areas and a brand new bar.
Move up a level and the atmosphere shifts into high energy, a flexible space that functions as an evening bar designed for club nights, gigs, comedy and all forms of late-night culture. Society groups finally have a home of their own too, with a space that adapts to the wild mix of activities they dream up.
The top floor is a different mood entirely. A calm rooftop lounge and terrace gives students a place to reset and soak up the view, a destination for afternoon coffees, group catch-ups and slow golden-hour moments. Flexible, custom-built furniture throughout allows movement and change.
The building is also new home for the Student Services staff, creating an accessible environment with private, comfortable spaces for one-to-one help and support whenever it's needed. This wasn't an afterthought. With demand for mental health and pastoral support rising sharply across the sector, making that provision visible, welcoming, and easy to reach was as central to the brief as the bar or the gaming zone. A student in crisis shouldn't have to hunt for help, they should find it naturally, in a building they already feel at home in.
To unite the three floors we were reunited with local artist Jazz Stan who created vibrant, colourful murals for the stairwells and atrium.
Industrial Pop
We leaned into a raw industrial aesthetic, exposed textures, honest materials, stripped-back surfaces. Then we fired colour through the whole building like electricity. Pops and splashes of vibrant hues that bring energy and youthfulness to every corner, making it feel alive and unlike anything else on campus.
Where possible, material choices were made with longevity and responsibility in mind. Specifying durable, low-maintenance finishes that reduce the need for early replacement, and sourcing locally where the project allowed, keeps the building's footprint honest over time, important for an institution with sustainability commitments baked into its estate strategy.
The result is a Students' Union that finally matches the ambition and energy of Edge Hill's student community. A place to meet, create, celebrate, play, relax, and dance the night away. A building that solves a problem but more importantly, inspires possibilities.
More than a regular Students' Union, this is campus culture, with the volume turned up.
The Impact
Buildings are only as good as what happens inside them. Early indicators from Edge Hill confirm what the research predicts: when students have high-quality, flexible social space, they use it, and the benefits ripple outward into engagement, belonging, and ultimately retention.
The SU has seen a marked increase in society membership and event bookings since opening, with the multi-use upper floor regularly programming across comedy, live music, and club nights in a single week. The rooftop terrace has become one of the most talked-about spots on campus, proof that students don't only want energy, they want somewhere to breathe too.
Perhaps most meaningfully, co-locating Student Services within the building has reduced the distance, physical and psychological, between students and the support they need.
"What Sheila Bird delivered wasn't just a well-designed space, it was a shift in campus culture. Students who previously drifted off-site now have a genuine reason to stay, connect, and get involved.
Footfall, society activity, and student engagement have all increased since opening. This building has become the social heart of Edge Hill, and that's exactly what we asked for."
Paul Malone
Chief Executive, Students' Union
