Case Study: Cubix Manufacture Casegoods for YMCA Purpose Build Accommodation

Who are YMCA MK

The YMCA MK is an approved independent charity providing safe and supported accommodation. The YMCA is helping struggling young individuals of Milton Keynes to belong, contribute and thrive.

Accommodation Pathway for Residence

The YMCA MK are opening the doors of a new purposely built youth housing campus in April 2020 to provide the young people of MK with additional accommodation for 50 more residence than at present. This community hub will be fused with training rooms and social enterprise units to enhance well-being and provide employment opportunities for residents.

The new accommodation provides a housing pathway scheme which will be made up of three stages:

  • Stage 1 – 30 Room Hostel – Belong – The first step of the programme is to provide local young people living under difficult circumstances or even homeless off the streets and into hostel accommodation. The individuals will enter this programme and stay a resident within the hostel for 3-6 months to provide independent living skills such as cooking and budgeting.

 

  • Stage 2 – Cluster Rooms – Contribute – After passing through hostel accommodation and feeling a sense of belonging the residents then progress to living within cluster accommodation. This is shared accommodation in clutters of 7-12 rooms with a shared kitchen and living room. At this stage, the YMCA MK are wanting to focus on the wellbeing of the residents and address self-confidence and motivation.

 

  • Stage 3 – Flat – Thrive – Stage 3 is where the residents really come into their own and are moved into 1-bed flats and self-contained studios. At this stage of the accommodation programme support is minimal and residents should now be within employment and pay 80% of the market rate for a similar property.

 

hostel-furniture-manufacture

 

Accommodation Furniture Brief

Due to the nature of this accommodation project, the YMCA MK need all bedroom casegood packages to be durable. The colour scheme of the bedroom furniture was selected to reflect their current brand colours.

Bedroom Casegoods Design

The casegood packages for the three types of accommodation consisted of a desk, wardrobe, cabin bed, bedside unit, full length mirror and loose furniture. sourced from Lugo: Hospitality Furniture.

A version of the Lugo Enya ottoman in a teal fabric was specified to sit under the desk area along with a simplicity version of the Ola tub chair in a white polypropylene with beach conical legs to act as the dining chairs for sitting around the Astrid square dining table with black cast iron base and matching table top to the specific room types casegoods.

The “hostel” and “flat” contract bedroom furniture was based around the robust Cubix Austen range and customised in light walnut timber effect finish to the cabinetry with a stylish architectural brushed silver ski leg detail. The external metal frame of the Austen range makes the bedroom furniture sufficiently robust to withstand even the most severe contract environment. The ski leg detail also facilitates moving of the furniture if rooms need to be reconfigured or for cleaning purposes.

The “cluster room” casegood furniture was based on the Cubix Blake range which provides a wide variety of storage options and manufactured in a European elm décor with drawers and doors in a contrasting plain vanilla and truffle grey.

 

casegoods-for-commercial-accommodation

Meeting the Client’s Needs

To address the client’s stringent durability criteria, all contract bedroom furniture was manufactured with neat finger pull cut-outs and no handles.

Cabin beds that are installed adjacent to a wall have an upstand to protect the wall from impacts, whereas beds that are located more central within a room have a shelf at the bottom of the bed with two side drawers for extra storage.

 

accommodation-casegood-package

 

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