British architecture studio Stanton Williams created the UCL East Marshgate building, which is the large academic building that is the latest to join the University College London. It measures 35000 square meters and is found in the city's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The concrete building has spaces for teaching and studying, hosting over 4,000 students and 700 staff members, which is about six times larger than the university's previous largest building.
Gavin Henderson, director of Stanton Williams states that "Lea Valley, before it was the Olympic Park, was very much about industry, making and infrastructure – that's where the palette comes from and the weathering steel adds a sense of warmth. You have the basic simple form of the building and then other elements that are expressive and project beyond the facade and also cut in where the principal entrances are, so in a way, they capture the different routes as you approach the building from different directions."
Large Concrete Educational Buildings
Stanton Williams Introduces the UCL East Marshgate Building
Trend Themes
1. Large Concrete Buildings - The UCL East Marshgate building showcases the trend of creating large concrete educational buildings that provide ample space for teaching and studying.
2. Expansion of University Campuses - The addition of the UCL East Marshgate building reflects a trend of expanding university campuses to accommodate a growing student population.
3. Integration of Industrial Aesthetics - The use of weathering steel in the UCL East Marshgate building exemplifies the trend of integrating industrial aesthetics into modern architectural designs.
Industry Implications
1. Architecture - The UCL East Marshgate building showcases innovative design techniques that can be adopted by architects to create large concrete educational buildings.
2. Education - The expansion of university campuses, as seen in the UCL East Marshgate building, presents opportunities for educational institutions to accommodate more students and faculty members.
3. Construction - The use of weathering steel in the UCL East Marshgate building highlights potential opportunities for the construction industry to incorporate industrial aesthetics into building materials.