Holyrood Student Accommodation

Student Accommodation designed to engender community and choice of room type and price.

Holyrood is a postgraduate village at the University of Edinburgh comprising eight individually designed buildings, eight accommodation types and 10 price points. The accommodation includes: cluster flats, residence hall, twin rooms, studios, en-suite/non en-suite rooms, garden rooms and large rooms. Twins and shared bathrooms all add positively to student choice – in particular on price.

Balfour Beatty completed the final phase of the project and the 2016/2017 academic year saw 1,200 postgraduates residing in the new Holyrood Development.

8

accommodation types

1,200

postgraduate students

The construction team was led by Balfour Beatty's Scottish arm of UK Construction Services, with the mechanical and electrical input being provided by Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick. To ensure time, labour and cost efficiencies, the on-site Construction team utilised a ‘just in time’ delivery programme. This, coupled with off-site pre-fabrication, ensured delivery of a high quality product.

The Postgraduate Residence Hall

At its centre is the unique self-catered Residence Hall (RH), where 480 students cook, dine and socialise together - a UK, and possibly European first! The RH is based on the premise that not all students want to live with only a handful of others, or alone.

Each floor has its own lounge, linked internally to the floor below, allowing one quieter space and another more active space, where two floors of residents can mingle. 

The RH opened in September 2015 and comments from residents have been extremely positive. Sharing and cleaning issues have been minimal.

Throughout the delivery of the Project, Balfour Beatty and the University of Edinburgh have worked closely to deliver a world class facility. This delivery is underpinned by the knowledge that we have all worked to deliver a facility that is definitely built to last.

Dom Gallagher - Project Director, Holyrood Student Accommodation SPV Ltd