EDUCATION 085
CASE STUDY
THE CREATIVE CENTRE, YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY
It takes vision and determination to compete in the same town as a blue chip, Russell Group University. But York St John University – which started out last century as a teacher training college – certainly has plenty of both. It has just opened a building at the heart of its city centre campus that communicates bold values of excellence in the performing arts, as well as the less likely bedfellow of IT, and does so in a warmly welcoming, enveloping building made largely of timber that is designed to be a sociable hub for all of its students. What’s more, it plays to
Generation Z’s increasing passion for sustainability with that quality writ large in Tate & Co’s architecture, both in the low embodied carbon materials such as glulam and CLT used for its construction, and the Passivhaus principles they deployed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, working closely with environmental design consultant Atleier Ten. The building has triple-glazing, but also simple, openable windows to offer both mechanical and natural ventilation, where appropriate, throughout the building.
There are 2,000 sq m of flexible teaching spaces that can be adapted to suit changing needs, with column-free floors that allow for multiple configurations. Where technology can provide the obvious link between performance and creativity, state of the art facilities are provided, including professional standard TV and film studio spaces. Teaching spaces are wrapped around the main attractions – the atrium space, and a 200-seater auditorium, for live performances, conferences or community events. Lined in pre-fabricated timber, the latter’s slatted surfaces reference the thin vertical niches that are such an architectural feature of York Minster nearby. The Minster itself, and the college’s enviable location right at the heart of York’s medieval street plan, are reinforced through careful framing of views from the atrium, the recital hall and the critical listening room on the upper floor.
A glass and timber glulam roof allows daylight to pour into the atrium and throughout the building, while a series of connected routes now link the Creative Centre to its adjacent Design Centre, all part of a larger integrated, easy-to-navigate pedestrianized masterplan designed by Tate & Co for this central campus.
Client York St John University Architect Tate & Co Engineer Atelier Ten Completed Spring 2022
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