The ongoing student population boom looks set to continue in Portsmouth with proposals for a new tower of 33 floors that will stand 100.8 metres tall if built, called The Blade. The development is being done for the University of Portsmouth who aim to replace the old Victoria Swimming Baths on Angelsea Road with accommodation for 600 students.

As well as the residential space, there will be an attached building that will offer six floors for educational use that directly bounds the southern part of Victoria Park, complete with a glazed façade that will provide a light man-made backdrop amongst the trees.

Aluminium cladding with a mixture of different finishes from reflective to matte feature on the sculpted angular tower helping make it look like a metallic prism rather than the usual poor quality post-modern designs that have come to be associated with much of the high-rise student housing built throughout the UK with their cheap panels and tiny windows.

The building also stands only a stones throw away from other high-rises, both existing and proposed – the completed Zurich House (due for redevelopment) and planned Number One Portsmouth are both set on the eastern side of Victoria Park.