Earlier this year I attended the Asia Pacific Student Accommodation Association (APSAA) Conference, where student accommodation providers, universities, and sector leaders came together to share insights on how we can better support students through their living environments. A clear message emerged: safety is no longer optional in Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), it is the foundation of honour, wellbeing and dignity.
What struck me most was how much alignment there was between the conference conversations and our own experience designing student accommodation projects. The sector is under increasing pressure to not only deliver more beds, but to ensure those beds are in environments that truly support students’ safety and sense of belonging. In this piece, I’ve brought together learnings from APSAA alongside Stanton Dahl’s architectural expertise to reflect on what it means to design PBSA that genuinely works for students.
For many young people, the moment they leave home for university is one of both excitement and vulnerability. It’s a season filled with the promise of new friends, academic opportunity and independence, but there is also an uncertainty during this time. At the centre of this transition often sits Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). These dormitories or buildings are living environments that profoundly influence how students feel, and how they thrive.
PBSA becomes a student’s second home. It shapes their sense of belonging and their social rhythms. In the absence of family, the accommodation also takes on the role of providing safety and security. When thoughtfully designed, it becomes a place of refuge that supports academic focus while offering honour, wellbeing and dignity.
This responsibility is even more pressing in the current context. In 2025, Australia introduced the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence. For the first time, accommodation providers, alongside universities, are legally bound to prevent and respond to issues of sexual harassment and assault. It is no longer acceptable to treat safety as an afterthought, or as something addressed through policies alone. Safety must be visible in every layer of student life, from the way contracts are written to the way hallways are lit. It is both a legal requirement and a moral duty, upholding the honour of students, protecting their wellbeing and preserving their dignity.
Designing safety into everyday life
The design of a space quietly influences how people interact, move, and feel. Architecture can inform behaviour through structure. It can either encourage community or allow isolation. It can either deter harmful behaviour or create blind spots that make it easier for harm to occur. In PBSA, where large groups of young people live together, these decisions carry enormous weight.
Drawing from Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, alongside behavioural science, we know that certain design choices make a measurable difference. For instance, when communal areas are open and visible, students naturally feel safer and harmful behaviours are less likely to occur. Secure access points ensure only residents and trusted visitors enter, creating a clear sense of boundary. Public, semi-private, and private zones can be carefully defined so that students know where they belong and can feel safe in their space.
Lighting plays an equally powerful role. A poorly lit walkway or dark stairwell can create anxiety, even if no threat is present. In contrast, bright, evenly lit paths signal that this is a safe and cared-for environment. The same applies to internal corridors and shared facilities. These spaces should feel welcoming and alive, not hidden or forgotten. In doing so, they don’t just provide security, they signal respect, dignity, and care for student wellbeing.
Beyond security, design can also actively shape culture. By creating spaces that encourage positive routines, social interaction, and self-care, architecture nudges students toward healthier choices. A well-placed communal kitchen might become a hub for shared meals, reducing isolation. A cluster of study lounges might spark collaboration. These aren’t minor details but instead they are building blocks of culture. Safety is not just a checklist of locked doors and cameras; it is the subtle weaving of design into the patterns of student life.
Anchors of trust in student leaders
No matter how well a building is designed, people remain at the centre of community safety. In PBSA, student leaders (residents appointed to care for their peers) play a crucial role. They are often the first port of call when something feels wrong, and the first line of response when someone needs help. They bridge the gap between formal management and everyday student life.
But to succeed, these leaders need the right environment. Architecture can either limit or empower their role too. Semi-private spaces, for example, are critical. These are places where students can share sensitive concerns with a peer leader without fear of being overheard, yet without being completely isolated. The presence of such spaces communicates that confidentiality and safety matter.
Visibility is another important factor. A student leader who can easily see across shared lounges or hallways can be more responsive when issues arise. Likewise, ensuring that leaders have direct and safe access to staff areas, emergency support, and secure communication channels allows them to act with confidence in critical moments.
This blend of human leadership and architectural support builds trust. Students know that help is not only available but close at hand. And leaders themselves are empowered to carry their responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed. Safety, in this sense, is the foundation that makes honour, wellbeing, and dignity possible in the daily life of PBSA communities.
Case Study: Morling College, Macquarie Park
At Morling College in Macquarie Park, these principles came to life in our design work. The challenge was clear: to create an environment that balanced the privacy of individual students with the communal life of a residential college. The design had to encourage wellbeing, belonging, and safety at every step.
We responded by creating flexible communal spaces, filled with natural light, that felt open and safe, rather than closed off. Secure entry points ensured that only residents and trusted guests could access the buildings. Interiors were deliberately calm with light colours, natural textures, and acoustic considerations worked together to reduce stress.
The balance was delicate and deliberate. Students needed spaces to withdraw and study in quiet, but also places to gather, collaborate, and build friendships. By layering the spaces of individual rooms, semi-private clusters, and larger communal hubs we created a rhythm that supported both privacy and connection.
The result was a student accommodation facility that didn’t just meet the functional brief of “beds and bathrooms,” but actively contributed to the wellbeing of its residents. In this setting, safety wasn’t something added later with rules or supervision, it was something designed from the very beginning, embedded into the heart of the community, and in doing so, it upheld students honour, protected their wellbeing and respected their dignity.
Meeting the market with purpose
Australia’s PBSA market faces a critical shortfall. According to CBRE, there is currently only one PBSA bed available for every 6.3 full-time tertiary students. JLL estimates that by 2030, more than 80,000 new beds will be needed to meet demand. The pressure is immense, but the opportunity is just as significant.
Yet, meeting the numbers is not enough. Students and their families are increasingly discerning. They are not only looking for affordability and convenience, but they are also asking deeper questions: Is this accommodation safe? Does it support wellbeing? Does it align with the university’s values and duty of care?
Universities and developers who rise to this challenge will not just fill buildings; they will strengthen their reputations and relationships. Accommodation that visibly prioritises safety and inclusivity will become a competitive advantage. It supports student retention, improves academic outcomes, and signals that an institution genuinely cares about the lives of its students.
This is not simply a construction challenge but a cultural opportunity. By integrating legislation, behavioural insights, and architectural expertise, the PBSA sector can deliver community, wellbeing, and trust.
Beyond bricks
When we step back, the question is not only about compliance with legislation or meeting market demand. The deeper question is: What kind of environments do we want our students to live in?
When designed well PBSA becomes a foundation for life, where safety and belonging are felt as naturally as opening a door or walking down a hallway.
Designing for safety in student accommodation means recognising that architecture shapes culture. Every doorway, every light fixture, every shared table carries meaning. Each design choice can either affirm that students are valued, or signal that their needs are secondary.
At Stanton Dahl Architects, we believe one of the roles of architecture is to create homes where students can grow. Safety is the language through which honour, wellbeing, and dignity are expressed, ensuring that every student feels seen and supported.
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