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Aspire
Aspire
Slough, United Kingdom
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Aspire
Slough, United Kingdom
Architects Manalo & White have created an inspirational learning space within a modest-looking industrial unit on a trading estate in Slough. Aspire is a unique project that brings together a broad range of users from school children to company directors. The hybrid design responds by blending classroom with office with factory.
The unit, previously used for the manufacture of aircraft parts, has been carefully pared back to a shell state. The materiality of original, industrial elements are subtly elevated. The concrete floor is stripped of paint, ground back and sealed to heighten it's beach-like, textural qualities. Natural materials like timber, wool felt, cork rubber and living trees soften the interiors.
Different environments for learning are defined not with partitions but with large elements conceived as big pieces of furniture. Whilst each area may have specific a purpose - presentation, meeting, workshopping ' the layout encourages flow between them and challenges preconceived ideas about teaching practices.
Manalo & White worked closely with furniture company MARK Product to produce loose furniture in bright colours and bespoke seating elements that subtly reinforced the different qualities of each of the education spaces. Bleacher seating takes advantage of the tall height of the warehouse to create optimal sight lines for students during lectures and provides storage underneath. The existing roller shutter is kept in place to permit mobile drinks or food vendors to drive straight into the warehouse and cater for social events. Large, new windows make strong visual connections with the industrial estate outside and advertise the center's activities.
The typically poor acoustics of the shed space were improved by foam sound dampers and an array of timber fins suspended from the ceiling. These modulate the sunlight from skylights and provide a nominal lower ceiling within the tall, industrial space.
The unit, previously used for the manufacture of aircraft parts, has been carefully pared back to a shell state. The materiality of original, industrial elements are subtly elevated. The concrete floor is stripped of paint, ground back and sealed to heighten it's beach-like, textural qualities. Natural materials like timber, wool felt, cork rubber and living trees soften the interiors.
Different environments for learning are defined not with partitions but with large elements conceived as big pieces of furniture. Whilst each area may have specific a purpose - presentation, meeting, workshopping ' the layout encourages flow between them and challenges preconceived ideas about teaching practices.
Manalo & White worked closely with furniture company MARK Product to produce loose furniture in bright colours and bespoke seating elements that subtly reinforced the different qualities of each of the education spaces. Bleacher seating takes advantage of the tall height of the warehouse to create optimal sight lines for students during lectures and provides storage underneath. The existing roller shutter is kept in place to permit mobile drinks or food vendors to drive straight into the warehouse and cater for social events. Large, new windows make strong visual connections with the industrial estate outside and advertise the center's activities.
The typically poor acoustics of the shed space were improved by foam sound dampers and an array of timber fins suspended from the ceiling. These modulate the sunlight from skylights and provide a nominal lower ceiling within the tall, industrial space.
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