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PROJECT REPORT: EDUCATION & RESEARCH FACILITIES
There were several design iterations before settling on the final composition, in part due to the complexities of accommodating a variety of requirements in a complementary way
a new building to decant students and give more “breathing space” at the King Alfred Quarter, next to the historic, Grade II listed West Downs building. After the university approved the concept, the practice were enlisted to undertake feasibility studies, including developing more detailed ideas and establishing a potential budget. With the estimated cost overstepping the OJEU procurement threshold, the university had to go out to tender. Design Engine were among five firms to interview, which Jobson says was a “pretty fraught” process; “we were in danger of losing a job that we’d created.” Thankfully, their existing relationship with the university continued, when in 2015 they were appointed to take the project forward.
Project evolution Following their appointment, Jobson says “a number of things came forward” that the university were keen to include. It was always the intention to include a 250 seat auditorium, but as the project evolved, so too did the university’s ideas. Tentative discussions were had about relocating part of the library, which expanded into a plan to bolster the law faculty. It was also decided to include a food hall for student residences behind the site, as well as several teaching rooms, and a new Digital Technologies department.
Part of the reason for the project was that the university’s existing buildings, were
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says Jobson, “hidden away.” The governors were frustrated that the institution wasn’t adequately recognised for its role in the city’s built environment, so the design “was very much about creating something which had the sense of a gateway building,” Jobson explains. He says it was designed not to be a “shrinking violet,” but to be a striking signal that “this is the university.”
Design inspiration
There were several design iterations before settling on the final composition, in part due to the complexities of accommodating a variety of requirements in a complementary way. The final design comprises an auditorium rotunda, a triangular library; and connected to it and the largest of the three, a rectangular building housing a range of spaces to the rear. The library’s design in particular took a lot of time to get right, having a “very complicated” roof geometry, which was “challenging – structurally and architecturally,” says Jobson. The practice were focused on being respectful to the adjacent, listed West Downs building, and “didn’t want our building to be jarring,” says the architect. They approached the design by including the West Downs building within their scheme, viewing it and their buildings as one entity.
Placing the largest building at the back of the site “reduced its dominance,” says
ADF MARCH 2022
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