Europe’s Largest Passivhaus Student Accommodation Tops Out

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15 May 2025

2 Trafalgar Way, which will be Europe’s largest Passivhaus student accommodation, has reached its full height following the topping out of Tower 2.

The development includes three towers of 28, 36 and 46 storeys providing 1,672 student beds and 80 residential apartments. The towers are each subtly rotated to align with a listed church spire in Poplar.

The topping out event saw attendees from the JRL Group, Urbanest, UCL and Evergreen travel up to level 45 of Tower 2 for a ceremonial concrete pour.

The project is targeting both BREEAM Outstanding and Passivhaus certification, which once achieved, will make it the largest Passivhaus development in Europe.  

Passivhaus buildings are optimised so that energy efficiency is achieved passively and generally include features such as extra thick insulation in walls and floors and triple glazing on windows and doors. Passivhaus buildings generally achieve a 75 per cent reduction in space heating requirements, compared to standard practice for UK new builds.

Bram Van Der Wal, Director at Apt said: “Our vision for 2 Trafalgar Way was to create a vertical campus, where living, studying, and working successfully co-exist, serving to create an enriching environment which will extend into the ground floor public realm and beyond.  

“We’re thrilled that we have reached this milestone and very excited to see the scheme continue towards completion.” 

Picture: a photograph of two of the towers, taken from below and showing how they're connected by a central bridge. Image Credit: Apt

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 15 May 2025

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