Fusion Students, UK

Wellness, leisure and lifestyle amenity design across a portfolio of next-generation student living projects (PBSA)

Summary

Biofilico worked with Fusion Students over a period of roughly three years to help shape the fitness, wellness and leisure spaces across a growing portfolio of premium student living developments in the UK.

Rather than a single isolated commission, this was a broader multi-site relationship spanning eight projects across London and key regional university cities. Our work focused on how leisure, movement, recovery and lifestyle amenities could strengthen the overall student living proposition, helping Fusion create environments that feel more distinctive, more marketable and more aligned with evolving student expectations.

This body of work sits comfortably within the Biofilico lens because it was never just about “the gym”. It involved the design of student wellness environments: spaces for training, stretching, recovery, social interaction and mental wellbeing, integrated into a broader hospitality-influenced residential experience.

project overview

Project overview

  • Client: Fusion Students

  • Location: United Kingdom

  • Sector: Student living / PBSA / co-living

  • Project type: Multi-site leisure and wellness amenity design

  • Scope: Concept development, spatial planning, interior design, wellness amenity integration, equipment specification, design coordination

  • Projects covered: Nottingham, Brent Cross Town London, Manchester, Birmingham, York, Leeds, Loughborough, Lordship Lane London

client relationship

The Fusion Students relationship was built around a shared ambition to raise the quality of wellness and leisure amenities within the luxury segment of purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) developments in the UK.

Across the sector, too many student developments still treat fitness and wellbeing spaces as basic checklist items, or an after-thought.

Fusion took a more ambitious view, using amenity design as part of the wider brand proposition and resident experience.

That opened the door to a broader conversation about how students want to live today: not only where they sleep or study, but how they move, reset, socialise and spend time within the building

Across multiple sites, Biofilico helped translate that ambition into a more coherent design language for student wellness and leisure spaces.

design strategy

Biofilico approached the Fusion portfolio through the lens of student wellbeing, lifestyle and experience.

The work was guided by four core ideas:

1. Move beyond the standard student gym

Fitness spaces needed to feel more intentional, more atmospheric and more differentiated than generic amenity rooms.

2. Treat wellbeing as a broader ecosystem

Gyms, studios, recovery elements and leisure spaces such as indoor basketball courts, yoga studios and ‘zen rooms’ were considered as part of the wider student lifestyle offer rather than as isolated facilities.

3. Create a strong visual identity

The spaces needed to be highly marketable and clearly aligned with Fusion’s more design-led residential positioning.

4. Balance active and restorative use

Students increasingly expect environments that support not just exercise, but also stretching, mobility, recovery and mental reset.

wellness vision

The wider wellness vision across the Fusion Students projects was to create a more complete and contemporary student living offer.

That meant shaping leisure spaces around a broader mix of needs, including:

  • physical training

  • cardio and strength work

  • functional movement

  • studio-based activity

  • yoga and stretching

  • recovery and reset

  • social and experiential value

Rather than reproducing conventional commercial gym formats, the portfolio work explored how student wellness amenities could feel more integrated, more lifestyle-led and more relevant to how residents actually use buildings today.

portfolio of properties

Across the eight sites, Biofilico’s work included a mix of:

  • gym and fitness space planning

  • cardio, strength and functional training zoning

  • yoga and holistic studio concepts

  • recovery and spa-style amenities at selected sites

  • interior design (concept design, schematic design, detailed design) for leisure areas

  • finishes, lighting and material strategy

  • design coordination for wellness environments

  • a stronger amenity identity within the wider residential concept

Although each project had its own constraints and character, the portfolio relationship allowed a broader design conversation to develop over time: one where lessons from one site could inform the next, while still allowing each building to retain its own identity.

8 PBSA sites

Nottingham

A nature-inspired student wellness and leisure concept contributing to Fusion’s ground floor amenities offer and aligned with the interior design concept of the building.

Brent Cross Town, London

A London PBSA project where wellness and leisure amenities formed part of a wider premium student-living proposition within a major regeneration district.

Manchester

A more differentiated leisure offer combining gym, functional training and holistic studio within a high-profile urban student scheme. We integrated industrial materials to align with the overall aesthetic of the project.

Birmingham

A more ambitious wellness package including cardio and strength training, functional fitness, basketball and yoga spaces, with a touch of Japanese zen.

York

A boutique size student gym with vintage British style touches to provide identity to the cardio and functional strength training areas.

Leeds

A concept built around a functional strength gym, cardio gym and holistic studio, with a deliberately modern, urban edge to the interiors.

Loughborough

A sports-aware student wellness concept combining a main fitness area, holistic studio and compact recovery suite, particularly relevant to a university town strongly associated with performance and sport.

Lordship Lane, London

A design-led wellness concept for North London combining a main gym, yoga studio and compact spa / recovery zone. Bold styling with ethnic touches and an abundance of natural light.

student residence wellness

One of the most important aspects of the Fusion relationship was the treatment of wellness amenities as part of the core residential proposition.

These spaces were not conceived as marginal extras. They helped shape how the developments would be experienced, marketed and remembered.

Across the portfolio, this meant creating environments that could support:

  • healthier daily routines

  • a more complete live-work-study balance

  • stronger resident retention and satisfaction

  • a more premium and future-facing amenity identity

From our perspective, this is where the value lies. The fitness and leisure spaces mattered not only as rooms, but as part of a wider quality-of-life strategy for student living.

marketing value

A recurring priority across the Fusion portfolio was visual and experiential differentiation.

The leisure spaces needed to be:

  • attractive in person

  • clearly zoned and easy to use

  • consistent with the broader interior language of each building

  • marketable across websites, social media and leasing collateral

This gave the work a stronger hospitality-adjacent dimension than a typical gym or wellness amenity design commission.

It required attention not only to function, but to atmosphere, materials, lighting and how the amenities would contribute to the wider identity of the scheme.

conclusion

Outcome

The Fusion Students relationship demonstrates multi-site experience in wellness-oriented residential amenity design.

It shows how we can work not only on one-off spaces, but across an evolving portfolio, helping a developer refine its offer over time and build a more coherent point of difference around wellbeing, leisure and quality of life.

This is especially relevant in PBSA, where resident expectations continue to rise and where wellness amenities increasingly play a role in how projects are positioned and valued.

Across eight UK developments, we helped shape a more ambitious and differentiated approach to student leisure and wellness amenities for Fusion.

The work contributed to a broader residential vision in which gyms, studios, recovery areas and lifestyle spaces are treated as meaningful parts of the student experience rather than baseline add-ons.

As a body of work, it remains one of the clearest examples of our ability to operate at the intersection of wellness, interiors and residential amenity strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • This was a multi-year, multi-site client relationship, and the portfolio value is strongest when the projects are understood together.

  • No. The work covered broader student wellness and leisure environments, including studios, recovery spaces and lifestyle amenities as part of the residential experience.

  • The relationship covered eight projects: Nottingham, Brent Cross Town London, Manchester, Birmingham, York, Leeds, Loughborough and Lordship Lane London.

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