TSH Director Toby Martin recently welcomed a group of second-year architecture students from Oxford Brookes University, along with tutor Justin Chapman and client representative Ian Stokes to the live construction site at Pusey Lane.

The visit gave students a valuable opportunity to see first hand how TSH Architects design, working alongside main contractor, Beard, is transforming the street with a new Passivhaus student accommodation building on behalf of St. John's College, Oxford.

The visit sparked plenty of discussion - from how the design responds to the challenges of a tight and constrained urban setting, to meeting the rigorous standards of Passivhaus Low Energy Building Certification. We also explored how and why specific materials and construction methods were selected to deliver performance, efficiency and buildability within such a compact footprint.

It was fantastic to engage with the next generation of architects and share the thinking behind creating a high-performing building in a complex and sensitive context.