hinge – July 2019

(Sean Pound) #1

The new structure, dubbed Ayb C, holds


laboratories, art studios, a sports hall, library,


small amphitheatre and recreation spaces.


The ground level is actually four metres below


grade, but benefits from clerestory windows


offering natural light, and the excavated area


is pulled away from the perimeter walls, to


provide a circulation ‘moat’ for the students to


perambulate. Ayb C has the high-tech facilities


and equipment required of contemporary


teaching, and simultaneously works to be stingy


with energy consumption.


The interiors are materially simple, on purpose,


with unplastered concrete-block walls and


concrete floors. Bright splashes of colour, usually


primary yellow, are dropped into some spaces


to liven things up and hint at a playful character.


This is echoed on the exterior, with two tubular


stair silos painted in the same tone. Beside


one of these, at the end wall, a segment of the


major box shifts at an angle, making for a more


interesting massing form from the exterior. Back

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