Science + Education

Centres of education increasingly call for distinct marks of identity and quality to give them competitive advantage in attracting the best students and staff.  All the elements of good urban design – ‘gateways’, ‘front doors’, spatial contrast, sequence and flexibility – need to be deployed to create developments which remain coherent and secure in the face of inevitable change. In an urban context, we address issues of phasing, building re-use and conservation, but also take a strategic view of opportunities to reinforce a school's identity as a learning community and a catalyst for sustainable regeneration.

Scientists and researchers build experiments, not buildings. We understand this perfectly. Following upon the innovations pioneered by John Weeks, a founding partner of the practice, we now rank amongst the leading international designers of research environments. Coincidently, we have seen the return of a concept very close to that of ‘generally useful spaces’, as introduced by Weeks.

As designers, we embrace the cultures of education and research, to create settings for learning and discovery which work efficiently and meet demanding environmental requirements, yet which also emerge as widely acknowledged works of architecture, such as the EPA Building on the science campus of Oxford University.  Key to our success is direct engagement with the users in science and education institutions to understand how they work and what is their vision.