At UWE Bristol (UWE), student accommodation isn’t just about providing rooms, it’s about building a place where students feel connected and supported and can thrive. That vision comes to life at Purdown View, UWE’s newest 900-room purpose-built student residence that’s fast becoming a benchmark for sustainable, community-focused living. GSL News sat down with UWE’s Student Life Team to learn more about their approach to promoting student connections and wellbeing at Purdown View.
Sustainable design ensures student comfort
Purdown View is one of the UK’s most sustainable student residences, built to Passivhaus standards. While that means excellent energy performance and supports UWE’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2030, it also means more natural light, better air quality, and a comfortable and inviting environment for students. “There are no dark corners for anyone to hide in, and the design encourages you to go through the middle,” one staff member explained. “It’s bright, airy and inviting – by design.”
Designed to promote connections
Every detail of Purdown View has been thoughtfully designed to nudge students into social encounters while going about their daily routines and promote wellbeing. As an example, laundry rooms are integrated into common spaces, encouraging chance conversations while students wait for their washing. One team member explains:
“Rather than being in separate buildings by themselves, the laundry machines are in the communal spaces. So, while people put a load of laundry on, they might watch TV with the neighbours or have a game of pool with someone they met while doing their laundry. So, A, it forces them to be near the washing machine so they can see when it’s done, and B, it forces them to interact with people.”
Studio flats are deliberately located near larger flats and located throughout the building rather than in a separate block, so students can have privacy without isolation.
“Flat layouts within corridors have been designed to have an optimal number of people on the floor, and studios are next to bigger flats. So, students in studios always have a neighbour that they can go and knock on the door and watch the match with or watch Bake Off or have dinner with. So, they’re not completely isolated. Of course, they can close their door and have their own privacy and have a quieter space. But if they want company, it is available to them.”
Purdown View is also home to a number of communal spaces such as a large common room, the MOVE studio, a galley-style communal kitchen that can be booked by students and is used for events, green spaces for picnics and outdoor games, and bright, comfortable study areas that support both communal and individual learning.
Purposeful room allocation
Recognising the importance of room allocation to a positive student experience, room allocation at UWE is done manually, with students selecting preferences across room types, living styles (like alcohol-free, quiet, or single-sex), and location. This manual approach takes time, but it means students are placed thoughtfully and according to their needs. “We don’t use computers to do the allocations”, explained a team member. “We take the time to allocate students manually to a room. It takes a bit more time, but we really try to meet students’ needs.” The UWE Bristol team report that demand for specialist accommodation, especially single-sex and alcohol-free accommodation, has grown in recent years, and so the university has responded by dedicating specific blocks to meet this demand.
Inclusive events
The Student Life team runs events seven days a week, with a focus on fostering regular, low-pressure social interaction. From craft nights to paintballing, all events are alcohol-free, inclusive, and open to all students, whether they live on campus or not.
Some of the most popular events take place in the MOVE Studio, a flexible space that hosts everything from salsa nights (complete with nachos and nightclub lighting) and movie nights to midnight meditation sessions designed to support sleep during exams. There’s also the Galley Kitchen, used for everything from cooking workshops (using fresh produce from local suppliers and herbs grown in the Purdown View green spaces) to mocktail-making nights with a local mixologist. When planning the activity schedule, the team works with other university services support staff to ensure that there are also activities that cater to the needs of students who are neurodivergent or have other specific needs:
“We try to run things for all groups of students. So, for example, we will run events for our neurodivergent students – something a little less formal, less noisy. We recently held a mixer… we set it up in a quieter place. It was advertised for all students to attend. However, the focus was on neurodivergent students, so it was quieter, and it was in a smaller room. We tried to create the conditions that would make neurodivergent students feel more comfortable.”
The UWE team knows the formula works, but maintaining momentum and timing are key. As one staff member put it:
“It doesn’t matter how great the event is, if the timing’s wrong, they won’t come. But if you get it right, they’ll remember it.”
Inclusive communication
Events and activities are promoted through a broad, inclusive communications strategy. That includes weekly email newsletters, digital screens in high-traffic areas like parcel collection points, a dedicated Instagram channel, and the Student Life platform.
Crucially, the team also uses targeted outreach for specific groups like neurodivergent students, LGBTQ+ students, or international cohorts, working closely with other university services and support staff to tailor messaging.
Wellbeing support
Wellbeing support is given a high priority at UWE. Accommodation managers carry out regular checks, backed by campus support officers who do welfare checks when requested, dedicated risk assessment and safeguarding processes, and a 24/7 mental health app for students called Wisdom, which provides wellbeing advice and access to counsellors.
UWE’s commitment to student wellbeing has earned widespread recognition. Purdown View has achieved standout GSL Index scores. UWE won GSL’s 2024 Inclusivity Impact Award and the CUBO 2024 Innovation in Student Housing Award, and is a finalist for GSL’s 2025 Inclusivity Impact Award (winner to be announced at the GSL Awards this October).
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Want to know more about supporting student connections and wellbeing in student accommodation?
Following the success of previous collaborations exploring the experience of international students in student accommodation and the experience of vulnerable students in student accommodation, CUBO and GSL have joined forces again this year to explore the topic of residence life. In this year’s report, Building Connections: The Power of Residence Life in Student Experience, we take a deep dive into the Global Student Living Index (GSL Index) data and draw on the experience of the residence life teams at UWE Bristol and Edge Hill University to provide actionable insights that help both university and private accommodation providers improve the student experience, foster inclusive communities, and support student success.
