Introducing good design by degrees

摘要

As this week's Class of 2013 coverage makes clear (see page 18), the life of the modern-day student is not an easy one. Mounting costs, however, are not the only challenge they face. A staple of Carbuncle Cup shortlists of the past, student housing features prominently in this year's nominations. Projects by Oxford University and University College London have been rightly doused in vitriol by readers at bdonline. Throughout the downturn, student accommodation has remained a rare buoyant sector. Grafton Architects' Stirling-shortlisted accommodation in Limerick shows what is possible, but often instances of the type are insults to their occupants and to the wider city.