London based Heatherwick Studio have won a competition to design a Learning Hub at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The construction of the Hub, part of a £360 million scheme, will be the first redevelopment of its campus in twenty years. Having already won the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award for Sustainability from the Singaporean Government, the design seeks to redefine the aspiration of a university building. Within this new context the purpose of the university is to "foster togetherness and sociability" so that students can meet and learn in a space that encourages collaboration.
According to the architects, "it was clear to us that since the advent of the internet and low cost computers that there has been a distinct shift in how students approach educational facilities. University buildings have ceased to be the only site where students are able to source educational texts, and have become unappealing spaces with endless corridors, no natural daylight and only hints of other people’s presence."
The hub’s form is dictated by its function, bringing together "56 tutorial rooms into a structure without conventional corridors, which have traditionally created social separation and isolation." The learning hub is porous - "students can enter from 360 degrees around into a large central space which links all the separate towers together." Each tower is made up of a stack of classrooms which build up gradually, with gardens on selected floors.
"Another inspiration for the hub was a wish to break down the traditional square forward-facing classrooms with a clear front and hierarchy, and move to a corner-less space, where teachers and students mix on a more equal basis. In this model, students work together around shared tables, with teacher as facilitator and partner in the voyage of learning, rather than ‘master’ executing a top-down model of pedagogy. Each of these tutorial rooms faces the large shared central space, allowing students to continually feel connected to all the other activities going on in the building."
Competition
South Spine Learning Hub at Nanyang Technological UniversityAward
WinnerArchitects
Location
SingaporeDesign Consultant
Heatherwick StudioArchitect
CPG Consultants Pte LtdProject Year
2014Photographs
Courtesy of Heatherwick StudioCompetition
South Spine Learning Hub at Nanyang Technological UniversityAward
WinnerLocation
SingaporeProject Year
2014Photographs
Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio
