Ridge takes six-discipline role as Portsmouth Student Hub starts on site

Ridge and Partners is providing six consultancy services on the University of Portsmouth's new Student Hub, which broke ground on 19 October as part of the university's £250m campus redevelopment.

Ridge said its team is delivering project management, cost management, architecture, mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) technical advisory services, digital engineering and principal designer duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations.

The university said its ground-breaking ceremony was attended by project partners Morgan Sindall and Ridge & Partners. The scheme refurbishes the existing Student Centre on Cambridge Road and creates a new space linking to the Library, with completion expected in spring 2028, according to the university's masterplan page.

Tahir Ahmed, Director of Estates and Campus Services at the University of Portsmouth, said: "We are delighted to be working closely with Ridge on what will become one of the most important buildings on our campus."

The scheme

According to Ridge, the hub brings support services, social learning and wellbeing together in one place and strengthens links between the library and the student union, improving movement through the campus.

The building is targeting BREEAM Excellent, with WELL principles embedded in the design. Ridge said that during early design stages it tested passive and fabric-first options, with architects and building services engineers weighing embodied and operational carbon together.

The university said the Students' Union will be relocated to the Neptune Building while the existing Students' Union building is renovated. It added that the site, Ravelin Park, has a military history.

Clifford Kinch, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the South, described the scheme as a project that would create a sense of place and connectivity for students on campus.

Ridge's wider involvement

Ridge said it has provided external consulting input to the university's masterplan since 2023. On the wider programme it said it supported consultation with students, local communities and councillors, helped secure planning permission and led the public exhibition.

The consultancy is also architect, lead designer, cost consultant and project manager for the university's 12,340 sq m Technology Building, for which a planning application has been submitted. That building is targeting BREEAM Outstanding.

Ridge said the Wiltshire Building, Eldon Multi-Storey Car Park and a new Centralised Cycle Hub are currently on site, and that it has completed RIBA Stage 4 on a new Civil Engineering Lab.

The university said the Eldon car park, which has held its ground-breaking ceremony, is a five-storey facility with more than 200 spaces, due for completion in summer 2027. The Cycle Hub on St Michael's Road will provide secure parking for more than 300 bicycles.

The masterplan

The university is investing £250m in its city-centre campus over 10 years under its Estate Masterplan, and said it aims to become the UK's top modern university by 2030. Professor Graham Galbraith, Vice-Chancellor, said the masterplan would create a sustainable, environmentally responsible and future-facing estate.

Mr Ahmed said: "The Student Hub will sit at the heart of campus life and represents a major milestone in delivering our Estate Masterplan and our vision for the future student experience."

Ridge says its history began in 1946 with Harold Ridge, and it now has more than 1,500 people. Leonard Poon is its project lead on the Student Hub.

Completion of the Student Hub is expected in spring 2028.