Abedian School of architecture

1. ABEDIAN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
CRAB envisioned an intimate setting for ‘student experimentation, social gatherings, lectures,
crits and weird happenings’, enabled by maximising the porosity between studio spaces. This
has been achieved through the judicious placement of curvaceous double height concrete
walls that, on their concave side, imply, but do not enclose, four spaces within. An inclined
pedestrian ‘street’ divides the studio volume into a three-storey wing containing off ices for
staff and future postgraduates, smaller reading and meeting rooms, kitchens and amenities.
Overlooked by balconies, ramps and flights of stairs the ‘street’ has the atmosphere,
acoustics and visual connections of a dense urban lane.
the scoops achieve ambiguity of territory, spatial differentiation and continuity, nuanced
lighting effects and formal layering. Their scale and materiality suggest freeway infrastructure
in a way that locates this building more accurately than could any screen of timber slats.
The conceptof the building aims to foster collaboration atall levels from undergraduates to
postgraduates where architectural students and academics can learn,create and exhibit in an open plan
studio environment.The striking design ofthe building also acts as a teaching tool where theory comes
to life, and will inspire innovation and creativity in students.The floating mezzanine, spiral stair cases,
and internal streetare justsome ofthe design features thatwill excite and stimulate a contemporary
education space in which students,industryand the communitycan learn, gather,and exhibit.
Abedian School of Architecture is an intimate and private structure that stands out for its clear
penchant for sculptural forms. The space actually encourages what the architects themselves
describe as “unexpected” encounters and situations. Peter Cook and his associate Mark Bagguley
have studied the project from a psychological viewpoint: the most important educational
experiences at university do not happen during ordinary lecture times, what really educates students
are those informal encounters, exchanges of ideas outside lecture halls and everything revolving
around extracurricular educational experience. Keeping these concepts clearly in mind, Peter and
Mark have drawn on a “soft” design strategy to create informal meeting spaces resulting in the
creation of a bright, spontaneous, colourful and highly flexible building
placed an emphasis on the non-curricula events that take place inside the building. a
clear system and layout, interspersed with deliberate idiosyncrasies, such as the scoops,
allows for a sense of theater and intrigue, while bright and colorful furniture add a sense
of theater and vitality. the result is a dynamic and functional scheme

2. sun-shading across the northern façade avoids glare and over-heating
vertical columns support an overhanging roof protecting the design from direct sunlight
the building’s orientation reduces the exposure of the north, east and west facing walls
and windows, where each opening is sheltered and protected from the region’s strong
and direct sunlight. the fan-like roofs take advantage of the scheme’s east-west axis,
bringing natural light into the heart of the design, while the climate controlled envelope
includes sun-shading across its northern façade in order to avoid glare and over-heating.

3. a central avenue cuts through the plan, gently rising to subtly echo the topography of the
site’s surroundings
main circulation areas act as thermal buffers, encouraging the natural movement of air
along the length of the building, and simultaneously reducing the need for mechanical air
conditioning. additionally, the concrete structure’s thermal mass absorbs heat during the
day, returning the warmth to the school environment during the evening and at night
when the surroundings are generally cooler.

4. structure defining concrete scoops are used for casual meetings in addition to the
university’s various crit sessions
circulation areas act as thermal buffers, encouraging the natural movement of air

5. brightly lit communal area at ground floor level

7. The new structure is comprised of beautiful curves and large floor-to-ceiling
glass windows surrounded by delicate multicolored pillars, which add an air of
whimsy to the building's purpose of fostering architectural inspiration.
Built on a hilltop, the Abedian building varies between two and three levels
and contains a floating mezzanine, a spiral stair case and an internal
walkway. For climate control on the structure’s extended, loft-like interior, the
architects focused on combating the hot and humid climate by creating a
series of “fan-like roofs and slits” that create an energy-efficient building
envelope. The curvaceous nature of the exterior continues throughout the
building’s expansive interior. By strategically using large asymmetrical
“panels” to manipulate the light source, the interior is sheltered from sun glare
and overheating, while simultaneously using optimal levels of natural light to
illuminate the interior’s many alcoves.
As experienced teachers of architecture, the CRAB Studio architects wanted
the design to convey a “sense of theater” in order to provide an inviting and
inspirational environment for the students. Brightly-colored flexible
furniture and open communal spaces follow the current community
workplace trends seen in certain large tech companies and small start-ups.
The welcoming communal areas encourage non-academic interactions as
well as a variety of diverse student activities. Creating a non-restrictive and
open space was paramount for the architects to generate a strong sense of
uninhibited creativity often ignored in design schools of the past, “We created
a very ambient building, where the individual can really identify with the nature
of his or her activity – thus the studio pads, scoops, decks and corners –
though based on a clear hierarchy and system – have significant shifts of
direction or variations of size.”
The building is a long, airy loft on two to three levels articulated by a series of
‘scoops’: defining structure-enclosures that can be used for casual meetings and
‘crit’ sessions. These line the central street that gently rises up the hilltop site.

8. Advantage is taken of the east-west axis to clarify a very climate-controlled
development of the north and south skins of the building.
The diagram of the building is straightforward enough – a gently ramping internal
street runs the length and height of the envelope, with studio spaces over two
levels on one side and three levels of offices and service functions on the other.
The concept of the building aims to foster collaboration at all levels from
undergraduates to postgraduates where architectural students and academics can
learn, create and exhibit in an open plan studio environment.
Via its meandering internal ‘hill’, the rise and fall of the building gently echoes the
topography of its surroundings.
The building’s orientation reduces the potential exposure of the north, east and west
facing walls and windows. On these facades, each opening is sheltered from the
strongest direct sunlight. Additional summer solar protection has been applied to all north
facing windows. On the largest, west elevation external vertical columns and overhanging
roof protect the studio areas from the harshest indirect summer sun.
The space actually encourages what the architects themselves describe as “unexpected” encounters
and situations. Peter Cook and his associate Mark Bagguley have studied the project from a
psychological viewpoint: the most important educational experiences at university do not happen
during ordinary lecture times, what really educates students are those informal encounters,
exchanges of ideas outside lecture halls and everything revolving around extracurricular educational
experience. Keeping these concepts clearly in mind, Peter and Mark have drawn on a “soft” design
strategy to create informal meeting spaces resulting in the creation of a bright, spontaneous,
colourful and highly flexible building.

9. This helps prevent any glinting and internal overheating with standardising the visitor’s living
experience. The columns supporting the roof do not only serve a structural purpose, they are also
arranged to create shading during the daytime when the sun’s rays are lowest, thereby creating
large facades visually interacting with the outside, even in a climate with so much strong sunshine.
On inside the building represents the public and communal life of people and interconnection
between spaces.
It is a long and airy open space constructing over two-three levels set around a sequence of
curved reinforced concrete structures. These so-called “scoop” structures define the interior space
creating containers for informal meetings and angles resulting in sudden, unexpected encounters.
The curvature solves several spatial and functional aspects: it forms part of the main structure and
helps organise the layout the interior space.
It is a long and airy open space constructing over two-three levels set around a sequence of
curved reinforced concrete structures. These so-called “scoop” structures define the interior space
creating containers for informal meetings and angles resulting in sudden, unexpected encounters.
The curvature solves several spatial and functional aspects: it forms part of the main structure and
helps organise the layout the interior space.

14. "The building was designed from the inside out," claims Robotham, who is director
at CRAB Studio together with Peter Cook.
The furniture provides dabs of colour in this concrete and ply [environment], which
could be quite monotonous," Robotham explains. "So the furniture really became an
important element within the building."