Client: The Arts Institute at Bournemouth
Location: Wallisdown, Bournemouth
University House was conceived as two elegantly proportioned two-storey pavilions, one accommodating studios and the other offices. These pavilions are raised above a ground floor undercroft on storey height columns. Rounded volumes slid in beneath these pavilions house a lecture theatre and the financial administration of the College. A simple oversailing flat roof extends over the pavilions and gives the building a strong cornice line.
Vertical circulation and services are arranged within a triple height atrium set between the two pavilions. This light and animated space forms a social hub to the building. Climbing the stairs and crossing the balconies suspended around the lift tower, there are constantly shifting views into the various parts of the building, and out through curtain wall glazing to the surrounding campus. The diagonal emphasis of the external hard landscaping is continued into this space, making it a dynamic place that is strongly connected to the rest of the campus.
The deeply overhanging roof eaves form a strong termination to the building and provide a platform for the set-back penthouse pavilion. The building has been designed to utilize passive cooling and ventilation systems which incorporate the thermal mass of the concrete structure and the stack effect of the atrium space.
The building was shortlisted for an RIBA award in 2008.