29 As Gavin Henderson, director at Stanton
Williams explains, the overall aim was to enhance the “exchange of ideas.” He tells ADF: “It’s about promoting interaction, and getting the benefit of having all these intellectual minds in one place. Bringing people onto one site also provides a better student experience.”
New teaching methods were also a key driver – the way that students are taught is changing. Universities are increasingly focused on ‘pedagogy’, ie the teacher-pupil dynamic, and making teaching less didactic, and more discursive. As a result spaces need to be more collaborative, for example supporting ‘cabaret style’ teaching, whereby the lecturer is on the same level as the students. Group discussions are becoming the norm, rather than the traditional theatre-style format. Lastly, with the attendees to the Executive Programme being a “very diverse but high-flying group,” says Henderson, they would have high expectations for both the general ambience and the details of interior spaces. The international market for business schools is highly competitive, so the architects had to focus on high quality spaces and level of finish. This did not mean that postgraduates wouldn’t receive the same level of quality: “It was an interesting challenge for us to create facilities that were of an equally high standard – we wanted it to feel inclusive and democratic whilst catering for students who are on very different programmes.” He adds: “It’s a wide ranging set of people and courses, so the building needs to support all of them,” this aim intensified by the fact that unlike many undergraduates, students tend to spend most of their day on site at ‘the Judge’.
He says the brief for the extension was detailed, but focused on the formal teaching spaces, and the architects “spent a lot of time interrogating it with the client” to unlock the true spatial needs for the Business School going forward. “We spent a lot of time with the client visiting buildings. It became evident that what made them successful were the ‘milling’ spaces – the foyer-type spaces which the brief was less focused on.” He adds: “It’s actually the social interaction that really makes the buildings work. That was key to the brief as it developed.”
Masterplan
The overall problem for the masterplan was how to squeeze the necessary accommodation on to this landlocked site –
ADF AUGUST 2018
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