Portsmouth Crown Place Student Accommodation
Rhubarb Seating was approached by the main contractor, Osborne, under the instruction of the developers, Crown Student Living, to design and specify furniture for Crown Place in Portsmouth, which is described as “the perfect home for students to enjoy the vibrant Portsmouth city centre, close to the main University of Portsmouth buildings and surrounded by a variety of shops, bars and restaurants”.
The development provides contemporary and attractive facilities with all-inclusive fully equipped private studios and shared apartments, a gym, games room, cinema rooms and exceptional study spaces, making it a popular choice for students living and studying in Portsmouth.
The Challenge
To deliver:
- Design-led seating to create an impression and an inviting feel for lounge and communal areas.
- Bespoke seating with additional seat depth for the cinema rooms.
- Bespoke upholstery services to create seat and back pads for banquette seating.
- Bespoke L-shaped sofas, chaise and window bench seating.
- Seating for study rooms that is robust and easy to clean but that has a ‘home from home’ look and feel.
- Stools for the servery area that fitted with an industrial feel
- Supply and installation of a range of appropriate tables across all areas.
Project Scope
Working closely with the project designers, Studio Cwtch, we created a seating proposal for the client that took into consideration their exact requirements for both the use of the space and the functionality, comfort, and durability of the furniture. There was high demand on this project for our upholstery skills to create everything from L-Shaped seating installations to daybed cushions. Our Valbo stools were used throughout to add a pop of colour and flexible seating options.
Wooden two-piece dining chairs with Agua Fusion embossed leather look vinyl provided comfort, easy maintenance and a homely look and feel for dining and study areas and the addition of counter height stools and complimentary bench dining tables created the right environment for the servery. We carefully thought through the requirements for tables throughout the areas to supply and install a range of coffee, laptop, and study tables. The cinema rooms required bespoke extra deep foam for luxury comfort and complimentary scatter cushions. We created a bespoke design for the L-shaped sofas, chaise, banquette and window box seating.
How we delivered
Our in-house design team worked closely with the project design team to create a visual concept of the seating for the different zones.
Working collaboratively with joinery teams we ensured a perfect fit for all the seating installations. By advising on foam grades and materials we created the deep-sit luxury feel required for the seating in the cinema rooms. Working closely with the main contractor we flexed our production schedule to meet the changing demands of the project’s evolution, reworking bespoke product dimensions as tradesmen completed their phases of the project and provided temporary storage facilities when rooms were not yet complete and ready for install.
