Balfour Beatty has landed an £80m contract to design and construct a 19-storey student accommodation building in central London for Urbanest.

Work will start on site this summer on Westminster Bridge Road.

The scheme will provide 1,092 bedrooms, a new sixth-form college, a health suite with swimming pool and affordable office space.

The accommodation floors will include photovoltaic panels and combined heat and power technology to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

Modular off site construction techniques will be used to create bathroom pods and a cladding system which will result in a quicker and safer construction programme.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Andrew McNaughton said: “The dynamic student accommodation market is a key growth area for Balfour Beatty around the world.

“We look forward to bringing our knowledge and expertise of sustainable construction methods to this project, our fifth prestigious scheme for Urbanest, in the heart of the capital.

“In partnership with Urbanest, we have committed to a range of employment and training initiatives including the creation of 40 apprenticeships to ensure the project generates tangible benefits for the local community.”

The project will employ 500 people on site at its peak and completion in due in time for the beginning of the 2015 academic year.

The award follows Balfour Beatty’s successful collaboration on four previous student accommodation projects in the capital for Urbanest totalling £100 million at 100 East Road, Hoxton, The Minories in the City of London, the T6 development at Kings Cross and Camley Street in NW1.