The main entrance sets the scene for both the university’s reputation as one of the world’s great creative institutions, and for the design language and materiality found throughout the building.
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Location Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Sector Higher Education
The building’s entrance atrium immediately captures attention and imagination. A large sweeping reception desk sits in front of an equally huge backdrop, created by a spectacular metal weave curtain.
We built the reception desk from scratch, layering the carcass with multiple layers of 2mm deep microtopping concrete to create an incredibly durable finished surface. We also manufactured the steel structure that both supports the large metal curtain and forms an enclosed area to the rear of the reception desk.
Here you’ll find a full production kitchen that due to its proximity, had to be fully enclosed by fire-rated walls. We installed the entire kitchen, including food prep stainless steel work surfaces, all appliances, ventilation and extraction.
Library
The library is a rich resource of insight and historical inspiration and is home to fabric and garments as well as books. We installed a moisture-controlled archive room to store the most important and historically significant items, incorporating double-lined glass display cases with controllable airflow, an insulated ceiling and used non-VOC plaster and paint throughout.
Standard texts are stored in a remote-controlled racking system, while in the public areas of the library we negated noise reverberation with a high-level feature acoustic bulkhead behind maple hardwood slats, acoustic baffled ceilings, partitions and glazed entrance screens. We built and installed the timber reception desk as well as the automatic book return and sorting room.
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Atrium Café
The kitchen prepares food served in the café on podium level, an area we also fitted out. High-level maple veneer wall linings give the café a simple, contemporary feel and contrast beautifully with stainless steel wall linings at a lower level. Glass-fronted fridge display units and storage cupboards sit under ultra-durable Corian surfaces that also serve as the café’s counter. We floored the entire atrium space with 150mm polished concrete floor that contains integrated underfloor heating.
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A gallery displaying fashion archives and student work sits just beyond the café area.
On levels 2 and 3, we built and installed the gallery display cases, incorporating lighting and air conditioning designed to protect and preserve the exhibits, all accessed via a discreet full height door.
We manufactured a range of occasional furniture pieces for use throughout the building and the atrium’s sweeping bench that appears to float without visible support was one of the most spectacular. The sitting surface was created using CNC milling, while the floating effect is made possible by a strong steel frame that supports the weight of the bench and those sitting on it.
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