JAN
St Anthony’s College at the University of Oxford looks like it is about to be hauled into the 21st century, architecturally speaking, when construction work on Zaha Hadid’s Softbridge extension commences some time around the end of January.
The project was first designed in 2006 but construction has been delayed due to planning and funding questions. The bridge will be made of a fibreglass composite and will link historic buildings from the Edwardian and Victorian periods. Read more
NOV
RMIT, an Australian university specialising in technology, has recently opened a new building that is one of the the largest teaching and learning facilities in the country. Lyons architects have given the building an expression inspired by the pixel, which is rendered in folded metal panels on the façade. Appropriate for a technology institution some would say.
Although the panels are coloured creating an abstract pattern /image of the façade, for me, the effect is a bit like the shiny metal pyramid studs on a leather jacket. You know, the kind worn by Punks and Bikers! Being out-there on the creative edge is also a good metaphor to inspire free thinkers! Read more
SEP
The royal seal of approval has been given to schmidt hammer lassen architects` new University of Aberdeen library now officially called the “Sir Duncan Rice Library”. Although the building has been completed for around a year, the Queen has officially opened it at a time when the very nature of the physical library is being called into question with the increasing proliferation of the eBook and the scanning of historical books online.
