Location
Hatfield, United Kingdom
Sector
Education
Size
3,225 m²
Scope
Confidential
Status
Completed
The initial brief for this project was to provide a central computing laboratory for students from the Faculties of Art & Design, Engineering & Information Sciences, Health & Human Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. However, during the construction phase, the requirements of the building changed and the building evolved into the School of Film and Media Studies.
The internal layout changed to provide smaller teaching rooms and a 216-seat lecture space. The £4.57 million project was constructed under a design and build contract between May 2005 and October 2006. The 3,225 m² building contains two primary types of accommodation, teaching and technical support space.
The design concept for the building recognised the importance of ensuring long term adaptability and therefore the plan was separated into two zones: North and South. The teaching zone of the building to the north provides a flexible, column-free floor plate with high ceilings for multiple projection screens, it uses glare-free north light and encompasses a teaching wall. The southern zone of the building contains all the support, core and circulation spaces, including the technical support accommodation. A circulation zone animates the south elevation at the University entrance and benefits from natural daylight. There are large double and triple height spaces within this zone to improve connectivity and circulation between floors.