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Construction has begun on MVRDV’s six-story sustainable office and laboratory complex. Located in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park, in the eastern part of the city, the project, designed for the Matrix Innovation Center, “will be virtually energy neutral and uses demountable construction techniques”.
This article was originally published on Common Edge.
In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic shifted our university—the University of California, Berkeley—totally online, along with the whole of education from childcare up across the country and most of the planet. In the wake of this forced and unprecedented experiment, debates about what it means remain ongoing. Will the episodic dream of a placeless university, or at minimum a hybrid place/placeless one, come true? Millennia of experience argue for giving higher education a local, physical anchor. And most universities and colleges have this anchor as their starting place, even as they consider what their ongoing experience with virtual teaching, research, and administration means.
The Universidad de Lima, the most influential institution in Peru, is expanding its campus, in the heart of the capital, to offer a new learning experience, a never seen before novelty amongst the schools in Latin America.
The project’s main purpose is to create the whole college town, usually found abroad, in its central location in Lima. This innovative approach comes from the understanding of the importance of the concept of “university-cities” as a key economic driver. In fact, the master plan suggests making the campus as inclusive as possible, by putting in place all the facilities needed for students to actually linger.
Steven Holl Architects have been announced as winners of the University College Dublin Future Campus Competition, overcoming 98 total entries, and a shortlist of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, John Ronan Architects, O’Donnell + Tuomey, Studio Libeskind, and UNStudio.
The winning design features seven new quadrangles designed around historic features and woodland, integrating sustainable features such as solar connectors and water retention ponds. The competition sought to express UCD’s creative abilities and strengthen its physical presence and identity, signifying a major educational project for the Irish capital.
KTK-BELT Studio, a not-for-profit organization based in rural Nepal, is currently working with local communities to create a fascinating "Vertical University," which will teach students about biodiversity and environmental conservation in 6 "living classrooms" positioned along a vertical forest corridor that stretches from 67 meters above sea level to the top of an 8,856-meter peak. These 6 stops encapsulate the 5 climatic zones of Eastern Nepal: tropical, subtropical, temperate, subarctic and arctic.
The project explores the specific impacts of climate change in each climatic zone, creating “classrooms” where students can walk from Koshi Tappu to Mt. Kanchenjunga, the third tallest peak in the world, and learn onsite from indigenous farmers about the biological diversity of each area. By teaching place-based skills in these micro-conservation hubs, the project aims to conserve and activate local knowledge. Each of these “classrooms” responds to the visual and cultural cues of its unique landscape, with one campus focusing on a flood-proof design in a heavy monsoon area, and another mimicking the semi-nomadic lifestyle of local yak-herders.
Beoffice and HSY Architects’ competition-winning proposal for Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University Campus in Turkey represents a generation of knowledge that will flourish and support Bandırma’s innovation in industry and economy. The university will take an integrated approach to the region, blurring the boundary between campus and city with interactive spaces that can open up for flexible use.
C. F. Møller’s design to interconnect and root the campus within the city wins VIA University College in Horsens, Denmark. The proposed 30,000 square meters proposal and 5,000 square meters Innovation House was selected amongst three strong projects, according to the adjudicators’ report in a forward-thinking scheme that develops a strong dialogue between the academic and urban spaces.
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