Alma matters: new university buildings

Parents are typically told that education should be seen as an investment in their child’s future, and likewise the best universities view investing in architecture as a good way to ensure their own ongoing success. High-quality buildings designed by leading architects help these institutions stand out from their competitors, and provide the sort of inspirational and engaging environments expected by Millennial students.

When New York-based Studio Libeskind was asked to create a more inspirational environment for the sort of blue-sky science explored at the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics at England’s Durham University, it responded with a mathematically influenced design featuring two interlocking stacked volumes. The building’s 72 offices are arranged in a ring around a central atrium, with bands of windows ensuring they each receive natural light and outward views. The atrium and meeting areas are topped with skylights that frame views of the night sky, while the building's precise geometric form alludes to its scientific purpose.

Providing community support is part of facilitating inspirational learning environments. With this in mind, Stanley Saitowitz’s firm Natoma Architects organised the four levels of Drexel University’s Hillel House around an open staircase which functions as a place of gathering as much as movement. At the top, the library and worship spaces are situated around open patio with a circular skylight, representing a sanctuary dome. The patterned relief of the Hillel House’s facade resembles a menorah and prayer shawls used in Jewish ceremonies, while the striking red brick was sourced locally in Philadelphia.

Creating spaces suited to specific types of learning drives the design of some of the best educational architecture. At the Lensfest Center for the Arts at Columbia University, for example, Renzo Piano Building Workshop employed innovative engineering methods to create column-free spaces with high ceilings that are ideally suited to the performing arts. The monolithic building, clad in white aluminium panels, sits on a prominent site in upper Manhattan, and also features narrow windows that allow glimpses of the interior from the surrounding neighbourhood.

Many universities have a long and distinguished heritage, but are often in need of more modern facilities. When UK-based firm Grimshaw was tasked with upgrading the student union at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, it introduced a glazed atrium flanked by the preserved stone facades of the original 1930s buildings. Existing details such as the dining hall’s gothic-style wooden roof trusses are complemented by contemporary interventions including steel balconies lined with glass balustrades. Respecting the past is important, but bringing educational architecture right up to date is key to ensuring the optimum return on this investment in the future.

© Architonic