Designed by: GWP Architecture
Built by: GMI Construction
For: Olympian Homes
Fusion Students – Rialto House is a 275-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme on Fishergate, York, completed in July 2025.
Developed by Olympian Homes, owned by Cain and operated by Fusion Students, the scheme brings forward a high quality student living environment on the site of the former Rialto Cinema.
The design responds sensitively to its historic context through its scale, massing and brick façade, while incorporating landscaped courtyards and shared spaces focused on wellbeing and community.
Achieving a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating, Rialto House transforms a previously underused site into a vibrant and sustainable student community.
Judges comments from the Awards evening
“The second award in the multi-residential category goes to a project that has successfully overcome the architectural and constructional difficulties of building on a challenging historic site. The judges admired how the buildings interact with the street at human scale and make a positive contribution to the character area in its contemporary handling of brickwork. carefully articulating the building envelope, to break down scale, improve legibility, provide defensible space and visual interest.“
