ABSTRACT
The delineation between street and teaching space gives one further benefit; the concourse can perform as an environmental filter throughout the development. In the major expansion of the University of Nottingham by Michael Hopkins and Partners, the internal streets and corridors act as air-conditioning ducts to distribute the air through the building by natural means. A simulated computerised dealing room acts as a market place of learning, there is a large seminar room accessed from the cafe above, and an open deck of a reading room provides a bridge between offices and formal teaching. The new business and economics building designed by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek at Loughborough University is a three-storey sweeping terrace of teaching accommodation which helps complete the campus master plan. The plan provides the necessary balance of teaching, seminar, research and staff rooms with little fuss. The form is driven by a combination of environmental and operational factors.
