EDUCATION 083
building at the heart of the campus, in York’s city centre. Here, the subjects also might be seen as counterintuitive – the dry and technical study of information technology together with music and drama. But given the growing importance of virtual reality and gaming disciplines within the creative arts, that combination may well end up seeming even quite visionary.
Certainly, the social staircase at the heart of the large, timber atrium, and breakout spaces around each floor, will facilitate those cross-disciplinary conversations in a way that
‘We were keen that students just come across contemporary art, contemporary dance, like it’s not a big thing’
departmental silos never would. And triggering conversations between departments is what it’s all about, says Lara Michael, project architect at Cullinan Studio, of their unique arrangement of manufacturing, research and design facilities at the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) at Warwick University (see case study). Being the first to blend different disciplines and technologies requires understanding between client and architect, and a really thorough consultation process. Says Michael, who was involved from the very beginning of
CASE STUDY NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION CENTRE (NAIC)
A remarkable blend of motor manufacturing, design technology, and academic research, the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) at the University of Warwick is one-of-a-kind. This £150m complex, designed by Cullinan Studio offers its client partners – the University of Warwick, Land Rover and global steel giant Tata Motors – a 21st century collaborative workspace to progress every aspect of automotive design within the same 33,000 sq m site. Parked on a prominent spot just beyond the entrance to the university campus, its design evokes the mid-century heyday of both motor and aeronautical engineering – with its wide, sweeping lines, elegant curves and chrome edgings – combined with the new, ecological aesthetic of the 21st century, as articulated in gleaming, pale surfaces, light touch technology and its use of timber, most notably the diagrid beams of the huge timber roof, which appear to float above the curving, glazed exterior. Undulating mesh cladding across the south facing exterior provides a touch of space age aesthetic and solar shading, and softens the scale of the building against the landscaping by Grant Associates, which includes a water course, wild native plants and spaces for relaxation and casual congregation. Entering the white, triple-height atrium reception, below the timber canopy, there is exhibition space to the right, a large and welcoming café (open to all) to the left and rear, and an impressive engineering hall
visible straight ahead: behind its glass wall, the Jaguar Land Rover current models are displayed, being tweaked, fine tuned either in their clutter-free parking bays or festooned on gleaming metal poles. Project architect Lara Michael says in theory this display space was supposed to be ‘like Kwik Fit – but not.’ It’s way up the innovation and sophistication hierarchy from Kwik Fit.
The central, collaborative core is signalled by sweeping stairs that rise at intervals to meet each layer of internal terracing that sits above secure spaces for technical laboratories and engineering areas; these upper terraces evoke both ski slopes and amphitheatres, and include generous free-form seating and tables for collaborative break-out sessions, as well as bookable meeting rooms of varying sizes. All the internal terraces have views out onto nature, as well as access to outside terraces. This connection with nature and daylight means those inside are firmly anchored both to the elements and the passage of time and seasons. The driver for this combined facility was to halve the time from idea to production, as well as cut down travel between distant departments (trips were allegedly reduced from 700 to 100 in the first year). But doing this meant bringing vehicles up onto every floor for every department to participate in research and testing; hence the wide corridors and heavy duty lifts to each floor. Future-proofing comes through reconfigurable walls and
writable surfaces, and a range of meeting spaces of all sizes, in all areas except the secure central core.
Constructed from glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT), the roof beams were CNC machined off site, assembled and dropped into the steel primary grid structure. The walls comprise CLT ‘megapanels’. This use of timber is intended to flag up NAIC’s ambition to prioritise environmental considerations.
Client Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover
Architecture Cullinan Studio Site Gross internal area 33,000m2 Cost £150m Completed February 2020
Services, structural and civil engineering Arup Fire engineering Buro Happold Acoustics Buro Happold Landscape Grant Associates Contractor Balfour Beatty Interiors fit out Peson Specialist lighting Arup
Awards FX Awards 2020 finalist, Building Awards Project of the Year, BCO Regional Award for Innovation
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