Introducing hotel use into a student residence

EDDEA has worked with Ingemed on the environmental qualification (calificación ambiental) project that will allow a two-star hotel use to be introduced on the first and second floors of the student residence at Calle Ramón Carande 6, Seville. The process, due to begin in March 2025, seeks to optimise the building’s returns during periods of lower academic occupancy.

The intervention responds to a strategy of functional diversification that allows university accommodation and hotel activity to coexist without operational interference. The two floors given over to hotel use will operate independently during holiday periods, while the rest of the building remains dedicated exclusively to student accommodation.

“This commission is part of Azora’s strategic plan to optimise the performance of its accommodation portfolio”, explains Cristina Salazar, Managing Director of EDDEA. “At EDDEA we have worked to deliver an effective solution, compatible with the residential use, that meets all the regulatory, functional and operational requirements of a hotel use within a building already in operation.”

As a distinguishing feature, the project includes specific functional adaptations, among them improvements to accessibility and safety, as well as the adaptation of the services and circulation needed to ensure that both uses can coexist. The proposal has been developed on the principle of minimal architectural intervention, prioritising high operational efficiency and a clear distinction between common and private areas.

The design strategy allows the building to keep its main function as a university residence while diversifying its revenue streams during the summer and holiday periods. This programmatic flexibility responds to new demands in the property market, particularly in the specialised urban accommodation segment.

The project also consolidates EDDEA’s experience in developing hybrid models of urban accommodation and demonstrates its ability to intervene in complex assets in collaboration with institutional managers and specialist investors in the sector.