34
PROJECT REPORT: EDUCATION & RESEARCH FACILITIES
the necessary credits included rainwater harvesting and the inclusion of a green roof on top of the auditorium.
PROJECT FACTFILE Client: University of Winchester Architect: Design Engine Architects Landscape architect: Land Use Consultants (LUC) Structural engineer: Heyne Tillett Steel Facade engineer: Thornton Tomasetti Transport engineer: Ridge & Partners M&E consultant: Mecserve Quantity surveyor: Jackson Coles Lighting consultant: Michael Grubb Studio
Acoustic consultant: Sandy Brown Main contractor: Osborne Start date: September 2017 Completion date: September 2020 Gross internal floor area: 7,500 m2 Cost: £40m
Layout & student wellbeing The buildings’ layout was designed around the concept of what Jobson calls “procession in architecture” – i.e. the movement of people into and through buildings. “It’s quite interesting if you start analysing buildings in that way,” he says. Usually with large public buildings, the architects would design a large opening but here that. Instead, they “made it obvious” where the opening on the main building was, “not by how big it is, but by how the walls and buildings direct you to the front door.” Near the main entrance, a section of the base of the rotunda was cut away, and features an artwork consisting of concrete letters, that signals the “front door.” The practice also wanted an element of surprise, following entry, so included a large bay window that overlooks the garden. “This sequence of moments happening as you come in through the buildings is really key,” Jobson says. “It’s an experiential process.”
How people navigate and move through the building was a major driver for the specification of materials. The staircases, for example, are timber clad to guide people up through the building. “The materials and colours were chosen to try and help people move from one space to the next,” he says.
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
The university focuses heavily on student wellbeing, so with this in mind the practice wanted to give students a space for reflection. With the requirements of a multi-faith room proving too complex, the thinking evolved into creating a ‘collaboration’ space, and then finally a ‘contemplation’ space – a place for students to escape from the outside world. “It’s a combination of a space in which students can gather together – in the central circular area – and where they can sit, in little soft- furnished pods around the edge.” These are “integrated into the architecture,” says Jobson, and have controllable music and lighting levels – some are two-person, some single, and one is accessible. “It’s right at the heart of the university, and says ‘it’s ok to sit around, you don’t need to be under pressure to be working.’ It’s a key space.” The design discussions around the contemplation spaces sparked further conversation about wellbeing aspects, which is where the idea for the project’s central courtyard garden came from. Located between the three buildings, with a lot of water, it’s visible from most public areas, as well as having dedicated space for students or staff to sit. “It has become a tranquil hidden garden, full of fantastic flora fauna and wildlife,” says Jobson. “It goes to the root of the way the university thought about the buildings – the type of spaces they wanted to create.” Illustrating the client’s confidence in the wellness aspects of the building is the fact that it has submitted the centre for WELL certification, one of the first university projects in the UK to do so. As part of this, the university’s food outlets focus on healthy food options.
The finished product Following some construction delays from Covid, as well as other factors, the university finally opened the buildings in September 2020. Although there were at times worries from the university - notably nervousness over the use of corten, and about the overall cost of the building - it’s a project they’re now incredibly proud of. “From the university’s perspective it was a big call, they hadn’t built something of this scale and budget before,” Jobson says. The practice are hopeful that over the next few months the building will be fully used, as the pandemic eases. Despite not being fully utilised yet, the building has been very well received: “I don’t think we’ve ever designed a building that’s had so much positive support,” says Jobson. g
ADF MARCH 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
