Joe Banks

In the centre of Bristol, two towers are rising slowly into the sky. St James House, a new development now under construction in southwest England’s largest city, will consist of one 28-storey building to house students and another 18-storey “co-living” block aimed at young professionals. The purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) tower will become the dominant feature of a city centre skyline that has historically remained relatively modest in scale.

It had seemed that the developers wanting to build the tallest ever building in south Bristol were going to have to go back to the drawing board. In January this year, a planning committee of councillors refused a proposal for a 23-storey block of student flats in the Victorian inner-urban district of Bedminster, still largely characterised by low-rise residential terraces and light industrial uses.