Discovery Studios is a purpose-built student accommodation building at Greenmarket in central Dundee, operated by Prestige Student Living. The building opened to students in summer 2025 and is an all-studio property: every resident has a self-contained studio with its own private washroom and kitchen, with studios ranging from around 20 to 33 square metres across several floors. Communal facilities include a lounge and games area, cinema room, study room, gym and private dining room, and the building sits within a short walk of both the University of Dundee and Abertay University.
SmartMist Fire installed water mist fire suppression at Discovery Studios as part of the building’s construction, ready for its first residents.
Project overview
- Development: Discovery Studios, Greenmarket, Dundee, DD1 4AJ
- Operator: Prestige Student Living
- Project type: New build, all-studio purpose-built student accommodation, opened summer 2025
- SmartMist service: Water mist fire suppression installation
- Sector: Purpose-built student accommodation, Dundee
The requirement
As a purpose-built student accommodation building, Discovery Studios needed to be reviewed against the shared multi-occupancy residential building requirements in Standard 2.15.
The relevant technical handbook depends on the building type, layout, warrant date and scope of works, so each project should be checked against the version of Standard 2.15 that applied when the warrant was submitted or the work started.
The all-studio format sharpens that requirement. Every room in the building contains its own kitchen, which means cooking happens behind every front door rather than in a handful of shared kitchens. Fire suppression has to work reliably in each individual studio.
The installation also had to meet the practical demands of a new build programme with a fixed opening date:
- Coverage across every studio and the communal spaces
- A discreet finish within compact, fully furnished rooms
- Scheduling that kept the fit-out on track for a summer 2025 opening
- Clear handover information for the operator’s onsite team
Why water mist
Water mist systems suppress fire with fine water droplets that control flames and reduce heat. As the NFPA notes, they achieve this with less water and smaller pipework than standard sprinkler systems.
In an all-studio building, those characteristics repeat their value on every floor. Smaller pipework routes cleanly through repeated studio layouts and service risers. Small nozzles sit discreetly in rooms of 20 to 33 square metres where the whole space is visible at once. And lower water flow limits the damage to a studio, its neighbours and the floors below if the system ever activates.
The result
SmartMist Fire completed the water mist installation at Discovery Studios, and the building opened to its first residents in summer 2025. The completed installation gave the building:
- Automatic fire suppression meeting Standard 2.15 for shared multi-occupancy residential buildings
- Coverage across the studios and communal spaces
- A discreet finish within compact, design-led rooms
- Full handover documentation and aftercare support for the operator’s team
What operators and developers can take from Discovery Studios
An all-studio student building concentrates the case for fire suppression: a kitchen in every room, residents living independently, and full occupancy through term time. Planning the suppression work into the construction programme gave the project team time to resolve the design, arrange access and complete the installation ahead of a fixed opening date.
Discovery Studios is also SmartMist’s second installation in the student accommodation sector, following SPACE St Andrews. Alongside new build housing and residential conversions, it shows how the same qualities, small pipework, a discreet finish and low water flow, carry across very different building types.
If you are developing or operating student accommodation or another shared residential building, ask three questions early. What does Standard 2.15 require for this building type? Is water mist suitable for the design? How will installation fit around the programme?
Planning a development?
If you are planning student accommodation, an apartment block, a residential conversion or a new build development in Scotland, SmartMist Fire can advise on water mist systems, installation planning and the best route for your project.
Speak to SmartMist Fire early, before fire suppression becomes a late-stage problem.