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Reimagining University Estates.
Some universities we work with
With decades of experience, we’ve partnered with over 60 Higher Education institutions - including many of the UK’s top universities.
Projects
Our multidisciplinary teams have worked with more than 60 leading UK universities, drawing on decades of experience to design and deliver world-class campuses.
How we help
Click on the pressure points below to learn more about how we can help.
Underperforming Estates
PORTFOLIO
Environmental Expectations
Budget Constraints
Competition for Students
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We unlock hidden value in your estate
UNDERPERFORMING ESTATES
BUDGET CONSTRAINTS
STUDENT COMPETITION
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPECTATIONS
PROJECTS
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© John Cairns, Exeter College
Strategic, smart, sustainable and student-ready
How we add value
We unlock hidden value
We help you shape a high-performing, future-ready campus that adapts to changing needs, optimises space and drives institutional success.
We help transform disconnected, underused campuses into places that work harder for students, staff, and estate managers. By rethinking how space is planned, used and designed, we create environments that are flexible, future-ready and shaped around the learning evolution. It’s all about making every square metre count - today and tomorrow. By leveraging data-driven insights, predictive modelling and smart technology, we help institutions 'right-size' their estate, repurpose existing assets and invest strategically to create a more agile, sustainable campus.
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A university’s estate is a powerful enabler of academic, financial, and operational success—but only if it’s designed for flexibility and long-term resilience. Inefficient space use, legacy constraints, and rising operational costs can create barriers to growth, while increasing pressure to optimise assets. We help institutions rationalise, consolidate, and repurpose space—ensuring the estate is not just well-utilised but also adaptable to future shifts in student numbers, funding landscapes, and technological advancements. By integrating modular design, hybrid learning environments, and multi-use spaces, we create an estate that evolves with your university’s ambitions. With a strategic, data-led approach, we ensure that estate investments align with institutional priorities, reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and future-proofing assets—so that your campus remains a competitive advantage, not a constraint.
Campus masterplanning
Campus consolidation
Cost benefit analysis
Geospatial services
Estate rationalism
Preservation works
Stakeholder engagement
Cost management
Civil and structural engineering
Campus transformation
Adaptive reuse
Efficient utilisation
Brand identity
© A beasley, Pembroke College
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RIDGE.CO.UK
Smart technology
ESG strategies
Sustainability certifications
Sustainable living
Circularity
Climate change risk
Low carbon materials
Net Zero road maps
Energy efficiency
BREAM assessments
Health and wellbeing
We make it easier to meet your Net Zero targets and sustainability goals by building a low-carbon strategy into every stage of estate planning. From whole-life carbon assessments to energy-efficient design, our approach helps you stay ahead of regulations, cut carbon and run more efficient buildings. It’s a practical, transparent process - one that reduces impact, saves money over the long term, and brings students with you every step of the way.
Environmental responsibility is no longer optional, it is a core expectation from students, staff, and stakeholders. Universities are under pressure to meet Net Zero targets, reduce carbon footprints, and create environmentally responsible campuses - all while balancing cost pressures and operational constraints. Our team brings deep expertise in sustainable design, retrofit strategies, and circular economy principles, ensuring your estate isn’t just compliant but also resilient and future-ready. Through data-led carbon reduction plans and intelligent energy management, we help universities reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance their reputation as climate leaders. Whether it’s revolutionising existing buildings through low-carbon refurbishment or integrating renewable energy solutions, we ensure that sustainability is embedded, not just added on
We turn ambition into action
By embedding sustainability at the heart of your estate strategy, we help turn ambitious climate commitments into practical, cost-effective action.
Merton College Lecture Theatre
Financial resilience
Strategic investment
Innovative funding models
Whole-life costing analysis
Project and programme management
Smart procurement strategies
We deliver cost-effective estate strategies that balance financial sustainability with long-term institutional growth. Our approach supports affordability profiling and prioritisation across programmes, helping institutions reduce unnecessary capital expenditure and make informed decisions within a wider capital plan. By embedding whole-life cost analysis, we drive operational efficiency and reduce long-term financial burdens. Through innovative funding models and smart procurement strategies, we unlock value beyond traditional routes, enabling strategic investment while maintaining financial resilience.
We help you do more with less
We help universities maximise the impact of estate investment by unlocking the potential of your existing assets, minimising inefficiencies and finding smarter ways to allocate capital.
© Diane Auckland, Somerville College
Estate planning and strategy
Student-centric design
Public realm transformation
Community facilities
Pastoral care
Learning commons
Campus identity
Inclusivity
Accessibility
Smart buildings
We design and optimise student-centric estates - across new builds, refurbishments and repurposed assets. This includes dynamic social spaces, state-of-the-art learning environments and high-quality accommodation. As teaching models evolve and students seek greater flexibility, we create future-ready spaces that align with academic strategy and modern student expectations to enhance wellbeing, overall student satisfaction and academic success.
We elevate the student experience
We create vibrant, inclusive and future-ready spaces that enhance your students’ experience, support wellbeing and foster deeper engagement.
Discover how our multidisciplinary team is reshaping this university’s campus - delivering major refurbishments, new labs and future-ready learning spaces.
Aston University
Read how our multidisciplinary team is supporting this £100 million campus transformation with new student accommodation and healthcare teaching facilities.
Find out how we are unlocking the full potential of this 590,000 square metre world-class estate through a five-year project management partnership.
University of Oxford
Read about a bold campus transformation supported by our multidisciplinary expertise - from project and cost management to engineering and architecture.
University of Portsmouth
A snapshot of our projects
York St John University
BACK TO PROJECTS
For over a decade, we’ve worked alongside the University of Oxford through its evolving project management framework, developing a trusted partnership with its Estates Services team and wide network of stakeholders. As the estate gears up for significant growth, we have been appointed to lead the next five-year phase of capital projects across the 590,000 square metre estate - home to world-renowned research labs, libraries, museums and teaching spaces. Operating as part of the university’s internal team, we are supporting projects ranging from state-of-the-art research facilities to major refurbishments that reimagine office and learning spaces.
Pembroke College
New Porter's Lodge
We delivered multidisciplinary services for the refurbishment of Pembroke College’s Grade I listed Porter’s Lodge and adjacent office. The project combined sensitive modern design with historic character, including refurbished windows, bespoke frameless glass doors and custom oak furniture designed in-house by Ridge.
Exeter College
Library
We delivered cost and project management expertise for the £11 million restoration and refurbishment of Exeter College’s Grade II listed library. The project modernised 700 square metres of study space, carefully coordinating extensive works to enhance facilities while preserving the character and heritage of this historic academic building.
Merton College
Lecture theatre
We have proudly supported Merton College for over 15 years. For this project, we delivered multidisciplinary services for a new acoustically-responsive theatre for lectures and music within the Grade I listed college grounds. Our team carefully studied the site and its historic surroundings, developing a design that fitted naturally, with building size, shape and materials chosen to complement the existing architecture.
Lincoln College Renovation of Turl Street and Mitre Accommodation
St John's College Porter's Lodge Refurbishment
Somerville College Student accommodation
Other projects
© A Beasley
© John Cairns
© Dan Paton
© Diane Auckland
© A beasley
Close to the city walls and York’s historic centre, York St John University is investing £100 million to transform its facilities and meet the needs of a rising student population. As part of this ambition, our multidisciplinary team has delivered a three-storey, 6,000 square metre student accommodation development and specialist healthcare teaching spaces. We are also providing our expertise for the extension and refurbishment of the university’s Design Centre.
Peppermill Court
We delivered multidisciplinary expertise for a new 210-bed, three-storey student accommodation development, helping York St John University improve and consolidate its accommodation portfolio. This supports the university’s commitment to providing guaranteed, affordable housing for all UK and international first-year students. We’re also providing design and management services for the conversion of a newly acquired city centre office building into additional student accommodation.
© Design Engine Architects
Healthcare Teaching Spaces
We delivered multidisciplinary services, including design, for Phase 2 of this healthcare education project, creating specialist spaces for radiography, ODP and midwifery training. The new facilities include MRI and x-ray suites, a mock operating theatre, birthing spaces, seminar rooms and recovery areas. It delivers a welcoming, high-spec environment that supports hands-on learning in real-world clinical settings.
Design Centre
We are providing cost management expertise for the phased extension and refurbishment of the Design Centre, supporting creative courses including game and graphic design. The scheme includes a new two-storey extension, upgraded studios and teaching spaces and sustainable heating and ventilation systems. This is being delivered to meet strict funding timelines while creating a dynamic, future-ready environment for design students.
Aston University is undertaking a bold campus transformation, supported by our multidisciplinary team. Driven by a vision to establish a distinctive ‘urban university’ identity and optimise space across the estate, the capital programme spans new builds, refurbishments, relocations, demolitions and landscaping. The redesigned campus will open up key gateways, connecting to the city centre and future HS2 Station.
Main Building
Our Project Management, Building Services Engineering and Health and Safety teams are leading the transformation of Aston University’s Main Building - home to 75% of its teaching space. Plans include demolishing the South Wing, delivering an accessible new entrance and reimagining the surrounding landscape to reflect Aston’s bold Estate Strategy and ‘urban university’ identity.
Cyber Factory
We project managed the delivery of Aston University’s £2 million Cyber Factory - a new Industry 4.0 training hub for the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology. From risk and procurement to stakeholder coordination, we kept the project moving through pandemic and supply chain challenges, delivering a cutting-edge facility on time and on budget.
Pharmaceutical Laboratory
We delivered project management and cutting-edge M&E design for new pharmaceutical teaching labs, transforming dated lecture spaces into high-spec, future-ready environments. From aseptic suites to advanced HVAC and AV integration, we helped create a benchmark facility that blends energy efficiency, technical precision and teaching innovation at the heart of the university’s evolving estate.
City Centre
Acquired in March 2023 by Aston University, John Cadbury House, formerly known as Citadel, is a commercial office building located in the heart of Birmingham's City Centre in a location bridged between their campus and the city. Acting as an enterprise and alumni hub for the University, as well as a dedicated space for the chancellery, executive and professional services teams to work from, the space required full CAT B refurbishment lighting, HVAC, power and AV systems to achieve client requirements.
The University of Portsmouth has set out to become the UK’s top modern university by 2030. To support this ambition, we led the masterplan for a £250 million campus transformation, underpinned by a commitment to people-focused, sustainable and digitally-connected spaces. Alongside the masterplan, we played a key role in developing proposals for the landmark £100 million Faculty of Technology Building. Together, these projects create flexible, future-ready environments that balance in-person and remote learning, enhance wellbeing and support academic excellence.
Campus Masterplan
We reimagined the University of Portsmouth’s campus, putting student wellbeing front and centre in a bold vision to attract and nurture world-class talent. This transformation set out to deliver cutting-edge facilities while reinforcing the university’s position as a leader in science and technology. We brought together multidisciplinary expertise from within Ridge, including project and cost managers, architects, MEP designers, civil and structural engineers and flood risk consultants.
Faculty of Technology
As part of the university’s bold campus transformation, our multidisciplinary team developed proposals for a landmark £100 million Faculty of Technology Building, consolidating seven outdated facilities into one sustainable, inclusive hub. Developed with university academics, it supports learning, research and social connection, with a focus on wellbeing, inclusivity and renewable technology.
Digital Estate Masterplan
Our Digital Engineering team has partnered with the University of Portsmouth to define and drive their digital strategy across their transformative campus masterplan. We're delivering information management and BIM coordination on every project - ensuring consistent, high-quality outcomes through smarter processes, aligned standards and close collaboration with the university’s Estates department.
