UNDERSTATED YET EYE-CATCHING

摘要

The English architects Broadway Malyan designed the new Alison Gingell Building at Coventry University. Completed in 2017, the new building houses the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. The 11,100 m2 complex houses biochemical laboratories, research offices and teaching rooms, as well as special learning environments that imitate a hospital, complete with operating theatres, an A&E department, etc. The aim is to provide a teaching environment that is as close to real life as possible. The design is the result of close and ongoing dialogue between the architects, the client and the users. The Alison Gingell Building runs from east to west on the southern edge of the university campus in inner Coventry. The long, south-facing fagade faces the elevated ring road that encircles the city, which makes it highly prominent. Mark Evans, director of architecture at Broadway Malyan, says the location presented an opportunity to build a significant structure that would serve as a landmark for the university. "We wanted a building that is technically and aesthetically robust, which will still be considered appropriate, relevant and high quality in the future. It was important for the client that the new building be made from high-quality materials with a focus on tactility and patina-tion. So brick was an obvious choice for the fagades," he explains. The subtle material palette consists of brick, concrete, wood, metal and glass. Deep reddish-brown D38 bricks dominate the fagade, the light and dark tones of which hint at a more varied play of colour. The north-facing gable looks toward the Sir Basil Spence designed remodelled Coventry Cathedral, which sits adjacent to the bombed-out spire of the original cathedral. The modern cathedral has a patinated sandstone finish directly referenced in the new Alison Gingell Building. The south-facing fagade has a variety of window arrangements and a three-dimensional look. A row of horizontal windows stretches the entire length of the ground floor, with the load-bearing concrete elements between them serving as a column motif. Tight and precise concrete lintels above the windows mark the transition to the bright brickwork on the fagade above. The first- and second-storey windows are set deep into the fagade in a regular rhythm and have minimal concrete lintels and matching external sills. The upper floors feature large, angled sunscreens in concrete, clad with the same reddish-brown bricks as the fagade.