FEATURE CASE STUDY
define this foyer hall. The intent, however, is other; floors are open trays set or shuffled in the framework, space runs deep back into the plan and the stair pushes forward with its giant scale; the limits or transitions of red steel to solid framing are dynamic and ambiguous, not always resolved. An early project aspiration was to reduce parking along Elmwood Avenue, thereby connecting the newly liberated forecourt and wide pavements to Elmwood Hall. Clearly, change to traffic and streets in Belfast is difficult to achieve, decades hence one can imagine Elmwood entirely free as a linear park and cross axis for the city. Viewed at this urban scale the design intention for a long frontage to Elmwood Avenue had a clarity that is somewhat reduced by planning negotiations to introduce projecting bays.
The building brief gathers together student support and administration with the original Union clubs and facilities. The Union night time entertainment venues can be operated separately and vertically on the western side, the division internally handled by dividing doors on different floor plates. The Union entertainments could manifest themselves as a separate building character, one that in turn takes stronger ownership of the adjacent, newly formed outside space set back off the street. Perhaps the rear and yard edge of this sunlit space can be developed with a low activating use. Similarly on University Road, the set back space between the original terrace and its gable awaits further definition or softening as a landscape pocket park and cafe. If we cast forward decades to when the campus realm might be made whole, it is also necessary to backcast. The original
Architect’s Account RPP Architects and Hawkins\Brown were delighted to be appointed as lead consultant and architects on the new QUB Student Centre as the result of a two-stage qualification process and limited design competition. The significance and sensitivity of this opportunity was immediately clear in terms of both the pivotal location of the site, in its rich historical context and as an historic opportunity to establish a focal point, that could be the epicentre of life on campus, fostering a vibrant community for students, staff and the public. As a shared facility, QUB’s brief for their new Student Centre was to bring the Students’ Union and university student services together in one location for the first time. The facility would also include Student Guidance facilities, flexible rooms for Clubs and Societies, shops, bars and a new Mandela Hall venue. The building’s name, One Elmwood, reflects this aspiration. The initial design concept for the building as a simple, flexible container, to showcase and highlight the wide variety of different uses under one roof, was retained and refined through the design process that included building visits, rounds of client stakeholder engagement and pre-application discussions with statutory authorities. Construction of the 11,000sqm facility commenced in late 2020, opening two years later in time for the new academic year.
The glazed exterior presents an open and transparent view of the building and the functions within - during the day and especially at night. A series of ‘totems’ clearly define the main entrance without disturbing the façade behind. The large areas of glazing provide strong visual connectivity between the building interior spaces and the outside world, supporting the desire to encourage greater interaction between the University and the wider public. Once inside, the foyer is a large, flexible space decorated with a mature palette of deep reds and timber to create a warm, calming atmosphere. The central building feature, a wide social staircase, leads visitors up into the building with clear and intuitive wayfinding. It was vitally important to us and the University that the building presented a welcome and inclusive environment throughout. The building’s interior has been designed as a place to go before, between or after classes to study or catch up with friends, with a choice of larger, vibrant collaboration and cafe spaces on the ground floor and more intimate, quieter nooks on upper floors. A variety of student lounges, external terraces and quiet rooms provide opportunities for preparing lunch, relaxation or reflection – a ‘home away from home.’ Gareth Andrews RPP Architects
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