A building type that brings together disparate social groups within public and semi-public space under one roof. The Student Centre at Queen’s university Belfast will be used not only by students but by staff and the surrounding community.
The building is both a destination – somewhere to eat or drink, somewhere to shop, to get assistance – and a route, forming part of the circulation network around the campus. Its core is a linear four-storey internal space, the equivalent of a small city square of wide street, where everyone can meet and feel part of the university community.
The access down the middle also forms the primary route connecting to the Lanyon Building, the main university building across University Road.
The crossing between the new axis and the main road gives a point of representation both to the unification of the university north and south, and the relationship between the university the surrounding city.
The building is arranged as two parallel blocks that enclose a large public “room” 64 by 24 metres. The blocks are simple structures providing for ordinary uses and long-term flexibility, while the “room” forms the heart of the project. Here the dominant element is a unifying light roof supported by long columns.
There is a hierarchy of social activities – a basement for noisy events, a busy ground floor that forms a “centre of gravity”, and a top floor for quiet recreation. Escalators and bridges provide circulation, supported by a regular pattern of stairs.
The four-storey central volume and adjacent third floor social areas have a ceiling are from regular S-profile overlapping perforated metal louvres.
At night, the T-shaped section of the social spaces will be lit, signalling the special prominence of the Student Centre within the campus.