Towers Hall - Usage and Layout

Usage and Layout

In 1967 the rent per academic year (including meals) was just £310 pounds. In 2007 the equivalent cost was £4,063 for 35 weeks. From the academic year beginning September 2009, Towers Hall (and bar) will be closed for major refurbishment. Students applying to be in Towers will be transferred to Old Elvyn rooms, which are smaller. A 35 week let will increase in price by £300 above last year, however, to £4,545.80. Many other student halls in Loughborough are changing their tariffs to longer 39 week lets; Towers is expected to follow suit after refurbishment.

Initially the hall was segregated by gender when it opened in 1967 - with the east tower allocated for men, and the west tower to women. In 1977 the College of Education amalgamated with the University. Shortly after this time, from September 1978 the separation became more relaxed.

Other subsequent changes have been the removal of the rooftop laundry room from the 21st floor and the enclosure of the base of the tower. (It was originally possible to walk right under the structure from one side to the other.)

The physical layout of each tower differs.

The East tower has 17 floors, each containing 6 bedroom (A-F), a small kitchen, a shower and a toilet. This tower is made up of concrete modules based on a distinctive six sided plan. All the bedrooms thus have six walls. The door to each bedroom - located opposite the window - opens into a central shared hallway. An access route to the central hallway from the lift and stairs - and also the facilities - are accommodated in two further similarly proportioned modules. Eight modules in total fit together symmetrically - in a ring - to form each floor of the East tower.

The larger West tower floors have 11 bedrooms (A-L), two bathrooms, two toilets and a larger kitchen on each of the 20 floors that accommodate students. The extra rooms are created by regularly interspersing the same modules (as used in the east tower) with - additionally - four "squarer" bedroom modules. Each bedroom opens onto an annular corridor hallway, which encircles the facilities. Thus eight "6 sided" and four "squarer" modules - twelve in total - fit together symmetrically in a ring to form each floor of the West tower.

The building has lifts in the centre core serving both towers. The lifts on the east side stop at even numbered floors, and the west side lifts stop at odd floors. There are also a number of student storage rooms located around the hall.