Wilson Paul Award-Winning Chartered Architects In Dundee
Project – New Courtyard Canopy Link building
Client – University of Stirling
Contract Value - circa £3.8m (combined projects)
Description
This project was located within an existing courtyard of the Cottrell Building, on the University of Stirling Campus. The University campus is often described as one of the most beautiful in Britain, with extensive high quality landscape planting and is set within 330 acres of grounds beneath the Ochil Hills.
​The Cottrell Building has the highest footfall of the buildings on campus, occupying a central location at the heart of the grounds.
The Cottrell Building is also one of the largest buildings on campus and also acts as a ‘gateway’ to the University for both Students and visitors, providing linkages to both the student accommodation to the North and a link bridge to the Andrew Millar Building.
Having completed a number of successful projects for the University of Stirling, we approached by them with a unique and exciting brief: we have a large and picturesque campus, but it’s lacking in a place of arrival for students/visitors and there is no clearly defined route through the campus. Can we put our existing external courtyard(s) to better use and can we establish a new primary route through the University?
The ‘A Courtyard’ within the Cottrel Building was established as a key opportunity to provide a unique and well used social and learning destination to take advantage of a new, defined campus circulation route and linkage to the recently completed major Bus Terminus. Strategically this was the best courtyard space for a new link building, as it served as the arterial pedestrian linkage between student residences, key lecture theatres, the recently completed INTO Building and Andrew Millar Building. Immediately to the South of this courtyard also had the benefit of being the principle entrance to the Cottrell Building, whilst the North boundary is linked with the pedestrian bridge offering access to student accommodation; hence the significant footfall.
At present the students are required to cross through the open courtyard between classes in adverse weather conditions carrying coursework. After much brainstorming and many sketches, our proposals centred upon a new covered Courtyard Pavilion that sought to provide a positive, nature focussed, learning space. This ‘pavillion’ would be a structurally freestanding element fully glazed on both sides, with interspersed columns supporting a seeming floating sculpted roof – referencing the tree canopys of the many forested areas surrounding the site. This also had the benefit of using the existing floor area to greatly enhance the student experience.
These proposals were designed to provide an informal meeting space for idea exchanges, whilst optimising the existing café offer with increased internal and external seating areas. Whilst it was envisaged that a large proportion of the use will come from informal learning, the plan was been designed so as to include for various academic learning zones, specific to different teaching styles.
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