Context
Architecture
Architecture at its simplest employs form to create space and order.
A series of influences affect the creation of a suitable architecture. The client brief, the site and its analysis together with the aspirations of the team all contribute to and inform the project.
Architectural considerations include the form of the college and whether it is to be linear, centralised, radial or perhaps clustered or a mix of two or more of these.
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Scale, proportion and geometry are important. Lack of scale can be intimidating whereas scale related to the human form we understand and can relate to. Certain proportioning systems we recognise and feel more comfortable with such as the square and the golden section, the circle and the triangle. These often relate back to the ‘platonic solids’ such as the sphere, the cylinder, the cone, the pyramid and the cube.
The relationship between the solid and the void is important, especially in walls and roofs. We can recognise whether a project is full of light depending upon the number of openings depicted in the external elements. The use of architectural devices such as a colonnade can give a sense of openness, especially when employed at ground floor level, providing the opportunity for external and internal spaces to interrelate.
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A sense of enclosure is also important, both within buildings where we will want to feel safe and secure and in the space between buildings. Architectural devices such as courtyards define and protect external space to create a place for a variety of activities, leisure and relaxation space and can be readily identifiable as ‘collegiate’!
