Digital construction methods supported delivery of Crown Place Birmingham, advancing high-rise student accommodation development through innovation and collaborative project delivery.
Winvic Construction Ltd has completed Crown Place in Birmingham, delivering the city’s tallest purpose-built student accommodation development and surpassing a significant milestone in the contractor’s multi-room construction portfolio.
Practical completion of the £85 million scheme was achieved in December 2025 for client Crown Student Living, with the building now welcoming its first residents from January 2026. The development strengthens Birmingham’s city centre skyline while demonstrating the role of digital construction technologies, logistics planning and prefabrication strategies in delivering complex high-rise residential schemes.
The project also marks a major milestone for Winvic, pushing the contractor’s cumulative delivery beyond 15,000 beds within the multi-room sector across the UK.
New benchmark for high-rise student accommodation
Located on Lancaster Street in Birmingham city centre, Crown Place sits within close reach of Aston University, Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham. The development has been designed to address demand for purpose-built student accommodation in a growing university city.
The scheme provides 814 student beds arranged across a 33-storey tower supported by adjoining 9-storey and 12-storey blocks. Accommodation includes 572 studio apartments, 114 cluster flats and 128 duplex rooms.
Operated by global student housing provider Yugo, the building incorporates more than 13,000 sq ft of shared amenity space. Facilities include study rooms, communal kitchens, private dining areas, lounges, a cinema room, karaoke rooms and a fully equipped gym.
A first-floor terrace and a Sky Lounge at Level 33 provide elevated communal space overlooking the Birmingham skyline. The development was designed by ECE Westworks and engineered by Meinhardt Group.
Multi-room construction sector
Completion of Crown Place represents a significant milestone for Winvic’s multi-room construction division. The contractor has now delivered more than 15,000 beds across purpose-built student accommodation, build-to-rent and other residential multi-room developments across the UK.
This milestone reflects the growing scale of the UK student accommodation market and the increasing complexity of urban residential construction projects.
Mark Jones, Managing Director of Multi-Room at Winvic Construction, said: “The completion of Crown Place is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved. From pioneering new construction technologies to maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety, this project demonstrates the results of our strong collaborative partnership with Crown Student Living, Yugo and our supply chain partners.”
He added: “Crown Place also marks a landmark moment for Winvic, taking our total delivery beyond 15,000 beds across our multi-room sector, a milestone that reflects the scale of our sector expertise and the trust our clients have in us. Delivering Birmingham’s tallest student accommodation building on such a constrained site demanded innovation, collaboration and absolute commitment from the entire project team.”
BIM innovation on a constrained urban site
Delivering a 33-storey tower on a constrained city-centre site required a coordinated digital construction approach supported by advanced building technology.
Winvic implemented a comprehensive logistics strategy during the 145-week construction programme, using just-in-time deliveries to maintain programme certainty and minimise disruption along a key arterial route into Birmingham.
The scheme is also Winvic’s first project to adopt a unitised brick façade system. A total of 2,768 prefabricated façade panels were installed rapidly without requiring external access, accelerating the construction process while maintaining façade quality.
Several digital construction tools supported delivery on site. These included the use of HP SitePrint, a robotic layout technology connected to BIM models, enabling accurate on-site setting-out directly from digital design data.
Augmented reality technology was also deployed through GAMMA AR, allowing project teams to overlay 3D BIM models onto the physical environment. This helped improve installation accuracy and reduced the risk of coordination errors.
The project additionally saw the UK-first deployment of Skyline Cockpit technology, enabling the tower crane to be operated remotely from ground level. This innovation enhanced safety while improving crane operation efficiency on a high-rise construction site.
Energy efficiency was addressed through the AmpD Enertainer battery system, which reduced diesel usage by approximately 7,645 litres per week during construction operations.
Further construction innovations included an open-top goods hoist to distribute materials to upper floors and KONE jump lift technology, enabling earlier installation and operation of building lifts to support workforce and materials movement.
Skills development and community engagement
Beyond construction delivery, the Crown Place project generated significant social value for the Birmingham region.
The scheme achieved high scores under the Considerate Constructors Scheme, receiving a CCS score of 49 and a Silver National Site Award. More than 3,800 weeks of employment were created for Birmingham residents during the construction programme.
Winvic supported 14 students and apprentices through T Level placements, industry studentships and graduate roles. Four participants progressed from T Level placements into formal apprenticeships with the contractor.
Educational engagement formed a central part of the project’s community outreach. Partnerships were established with Walsall College, BMet College and South and City College Birmingham, alongside local schools including Erdington Academy.
More than 400 students participated in 22 engagement activities including construction workshops, industry presentations and site visits demonstrating modern digital construction practices.
Community initiatives also included fundraising events raising over £7,500, canal clean-up projects and a seasonal event supporting Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Industry partners highlight collaborative delivery of Crown Place
Alan Pulver, Director at Crown Student Living, said: “The completion of Crown Place marks a significant milestone for Crown Student Living. This landmark development sets a new benchmark for student living in Birmingham, combining high-quality design with carefully considered spaces that foster a strong sense of community.”
He added that close collaboration between development, construction and operational partners was critical to the outcome.
Robin Moorcroft, Senior Vice President of Commercial at Yugo, said: “We are thrilled by the completion of Crown Place, as the space represents the high-quality student accommodation Yugo is proud to manage. At Yugo, we go beyond housing; we’re committed to creating vibrant, sustainable, and supportive communities where students can truly thrive.”
Crown Place Birmingham demonstrates how digital construction technologies, collaborative delivery models and innovation can enable complex high-rise student accommodation developments while supporting urban growth and skills development.
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